On February 29th, the Aix-Marseille Law Faculty welcomed famous Mediterranean lawyers and researchers as a first step towards the creation of a Mediterranean lawyers community to train high-level teachers, foster knowledge exchange, encourage mobility and develop law research fitting the needs of the Mediterranean Basin.

Among the people who attended this special day, were: Missoum SBIH, Algerian Ambassador to France; Michèle GENDREAU-MASSALOUX who is responsible for training, higher education and research at the mission for the Union for the Mediterranean at the French Presidency; Jean-Louis GUIGOU, general delegate for the Institute of Prospective Economics of the Mediterranean.

The first Mediterranean doctoral school in law should take place in 2009 and gather about 50 future doctors from partner universities around the topic "Mediterranean, law and economic area". A scientific council, made up of representatives from partner universities and other key figures, should also find each year a relevant topic for a doctoral seminar and another meeting called "Les Rencontres méditerranéennes du droit" (Mediterranean law meeting) which would be open to researchers, lawyers and people from the civil society.

Mediterranean doctoral school in law partners:
- ALGERIA: Faculty of Law at the Algiers Benyoucef Benkhedda University; Faculty of Law at the Constantine Mentouri University
- SPAIN: Barcelona University
- LEBANON: Faculty of Law, Politics and Management Science at the Lebanese University
- MOROCCO: Rabat University
- SYRIA: Faculty of Law at the Damas University
- TUNISIA: Faculty of Law, Politics and Social Science at the Tunis 7 Nov. Carthage University

Potential partners:
- GREECE: University of Athens
- ITALY: Sapienza University of Rome
- TURKEY: Galatasaray University

Source : Press release from the Paul Cézanne University March 4th 2008