The Faculty of Law and Political Science at the Saint Joseph University of Beirut combines the Faculty of Law and the Institute of Political Science.

The Faculty of Law

Founded in 1913 as the Law School through a partnership between the Saint Joseph University and the Lyon Association for the Development of Higher Education (representing Université de Lyon), the Faculty is deeply committed to an educational mission grounded in the intellectual and human values of the University.

Lebanon’s legal system, rooted in Greco-Roman traditions and shaped by the teachings of the “Ecumenical Masters” at Beirut’s historic Law School, naturally integrates French legal principles. As the country’s legal institutions developed independently, it became essential to teach Lebanese law as a distinct discipline. The Faculty adopted a bilingual approach: Arabic is used to convey key concepts of Islamic law, while French remains the language of Roman law foundations and legal research. To reflect the global evolution of law and its growing international dimension, English has also been incorporated into the program, ensuring graduates are prepared for both local practice and global legal contexts.

Bilingual education has long defined the Faculty, reflecting its national significance and close ties with French universities. With support from Lyon, the Faculty was authorized in 1920 to grant the French Bachelor of Law, followed by postgraduate degrees in 1924, and the PhD in Law in 1942. Simultaneously, the Faculty developed a national program in Arabic under Lebanese authorities, introducing Arabic courses in Islamic and administrative law in the 1920s, and officially establishing the Lebanese Bachelor of Law in 1940. To integrate both systems, a unified exam structure was introduced in 1965, allowing students to earn both Lebanese and French degrees. This dual-degree arrangement continued until 1979, when the Faculty retired the restructured French degree to focus entirely on the bilingual Lebanese law program.

The dual nature of the law degrees – the Lebanese state degree and the French state degree – initially improved the quality of legal education but also risked creating division in the programs. To address this, an exam system was introduced in 1965 and strengthened in 1973 with a single jury awarding both degrees. Under this system, Arabic exams were used for the French law degree, while French exams were used for the Lebanese law degree. This arrangement remained in place until the October 1979 session, when structural changes to the French law program led the Faculty to retire the French degree and focus exclusively on awarding bilingual Lebanese law degrees.

The teaching of law in Lebanon has long exerted professional, cultural, and political impacts. Despite the crisis that affected the development of higher education in the country, the Faculty, particularly its Law Department, maintained its prominent status. The Faculty of Law at the Saint Joseph University held a de facto monopoly on legal education in Lebanon until 1953. That year, this position faced challenges as growing demand emerged for legal instruction exclusively in Arabic for candidates who did not speak French and sought careers in the public sector or at the bar.

During this period, several new institutions expanded legal education in Lebanon, including the legal section of the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts, the Faculty of Law at the Arab University, and the Faculty of Law at the Lebanese University. Two decrees, each with different implications, changed the status of the Law Department at the Faculty. The 1958 decree integrated the Faculty of Law in Beirut into the Lebanese University, stipulating that the Faculty was responsible for teaching law as an integral part of the Lebanese University and fell under the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for all matters related to Lebanese law. The Higher Management Council operated under the patronage of the President of the Republic, with meetings presided over alternately by the Rector of the Lebanese University and the Rector of the Saint Joseph University.

The Faculty’s position was further challenged during the events of 1958. To expand access to legal education for students who spoke only Arabic, the Lebanese University divided its Faculty of Law into two sections. The November 14, 1959 decree, later confirmed by the law of December 23, 1961, entrusted the Faculty with the second section. This section operated autonomously, emphasizing bilingual education and maintaining the Faculty’s long-standing commitment to both Arabic and French instruction. 

The Institute of Political Science

The Institute of Political Science has a straightforward yet significant history. It began in 1920 as a “preparatory course for administrative careers,” intended to enhance civil service training. In 1944, it was renamed the “Public Service Preparation Center,” and eventually evolved into the “Institute of Political Science,” offering a diploma. By 1959, this diploma was formalized into a Bachelor in Political Science from the Saint Joseph University.

The Department of Administrative and Political Science was initially created to succeed the Institute of Political Science within the Faculty of Law and Political Science. It consolidated programs leading to the Bachelor in Administrative and Political Sciences, the Master in Political Science, the Graduate Diploma in Political Science, and the PhD in Political Science.

In October 2002, the Department was reestablished as the Institute of Political Science. Fully integrated into the Faculty of Law and Political Science, the Institute operates with its administrative, scientific, and financial autonomy, under the supervision of USJ’s central administration and in coordination with the Faculty’s leadership. The Institute currently offers a Bachelor in Administrative and Political Sciences, a Master in Political Science, and a PhD in Political Science.