US-Saudi Legal and Shari'a Experts Roundtable Session

This roundtable forum which was conducted in Washington D.C. provided an intellectual platform for the exchange of knowledge and expertise by prominent U.S. and Saudi scholars and lawyers in order to examine the different legal and judicial systems in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, identify strategies and areas of expertise for future collaboration, and outline methods of support to local Saudi women in the legal sphere for legal practice and reform.
The participants discussed the legal and Shari'a systems in the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the challenges of practice, implementation and enforcement of the law, and explored appropriate mechanisms to provide professional legal training for Saudi women in the legal field, in particular the first Saudi women law graduates from Saudi universities.
In particular, the roundtable aimed to:
• Bring together male and female Saudi attorneys and professors in the fields of law, Islamic jurisprudence, political science, and women's rights and studies, in addition to US law professors specialized in Middle Eastern studies and legal practitioners;
• Share experiences and strategies for the adoption, implementation and amendments drawn from both legal systems; and
• Seek to develop recommendations for future partnerships and collaboration in support of Saudi women in the legal sphere.