About Us

The CLEA fosters and promotes high standards of legal education in the Commonwealth. Founded in 1971, it is a Commonwealth-wide body with regional Chapters and Committees (see left, under Who’s Who for regional contact details) in Asia, Southern Africa, West Africa, the Caribbean and Europe.

The goal of the Association is to make legal education socially relevant and professionally useful, particularly through:

Whilst this goal may be relevant to all jurisdictions across the world, the Association’s focus is on the Nations belonging to the Commonwealth, legal systems based or drawn from the Anglo-American tradition, or the Common law.

Who We Are

The list on the left gives the names of the key contacts, and the map below indicates the Commonwealth Nations and the locations of the key contacts and past conferences.

The Association’s Programme of Action is based on the need to make legal education socially relevant and professionally useful. The following headings list some of the CLEA activities with which the wider membership can engage in order to assist the Association.

Publications and Research

• The CLEA Newsletter is published twice a year and contains news and views about law and legal education developments in the Commonwealth
• The Journal of Commonwealth Law and Legal Education is published twice a year by the Open University and contains peer-reviewed articles. The Journal welcomes a range of contributions from those who consider themselves as primarily teachers of law, those who are primarily researchers or scholars and those whose main work is in legal practice or judicial responsibilities.
• A variety of books on law and legal education in the Commonwealth is also published on an ad hoc basis. The Association’s website provides access to a wide range of Commonwealth legal materials, model curricula and publications. We also provide links to other organisations. Conferences.
• The Association organises regular international and regional conferences and seminars. Recently, it has organised/co-sponsored conferences on topics such as law and development, human rights and just and honest government, as well as on legal education. Venues have included Australia, Nigeria, Cayman Islands, UK, Jamaica, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, South Africa, Canada and Kenya. Forthcoming events are listed on our Home page.

Commonwealth Law Lecture Series

This is a unique series that takes place on a Commonwealth-wide basis. Lectures are given by leading legal academics and judges. Details will be advertised as and when they arise.

Curriculum Development

The Association is committed to developing new curricula that reflect both the importance of Commonwealth jurisprudence and the need for law schools in the Commonwealth (and beyond) to equip their students to meet the demands of the 21st century lawyer. Subjects include:

• Human rights for the Commonwealth;
• Transnational crime/anti-terrorism law;
• Environmental justice (in preparation);
• International trade law (in preparation).

Strengthening Law Schools

• Providing training and materials for the teaching of a transnational crime course
• Assisting in the distribution of law books to Commonwealth law schools
• Establishing the Commonwealth Legal Education Research Centre in Cameroon.

Strengthening the Harare Commonwealth Principles

• The Association works with the Commonwealth and three other Commonwealth professional organisations: the Commonwealth Magistrates’ and Judges Association, the Commonwealth Lawyers’ Association and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, on the development of the Latimer House Guidelines for the Commonwealth.
• The Association supports the work of the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative.

Activities for Law Students

• The Commonwealth Moot Competition is held biennially, with the last three competitions being held in Malaysia, United Kingdom and Kenya.
• The Commonwealth Students’ Essay Competition is also held biennially
• The Commonwealth Law Student Association was formed after the Durban 2013 Conference and will work alongside the CLEA.

For further information on the work of the Association and details of membership, please contact one of the executive members (listed on left) or write to:
The General Secretary, Commonwealth Legal Education Association
Prof. Meera Furtado
e-mail: info@clea.ac

c/o LCAD
Commonwealth Secretariat
Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SW1Y 5HX
UK.
Tel: +44 (0)20 7747 6415
Fax: +44 (0)20 7004 3649