Achievement Details

Mr. Sayeed Hossain Sarwar, Senior Lecturer, Department of Law, and Mr. Ali Mashraf, Lecturer, Department of Law, East West University (EWU), have successfully participated in the 3rd Asia Clinical Legal Education (CLE) Conference, organized by Bridges Across Borders Southeast Asia Community Legal Education Initiative (BABSEACLE) in Chiang Mai University, Thailand, from 23 to 25 May 2025. The 3rd Asia CLE Conference is one of the largest congregations of clinical legal educators in Asia. Prominent clinical legal educators from Asia as well as other continents gather at the Conference to discuss developments and challenges in institutionalizing CLE in their respective countries and set the future pathways in domestic and regional contexts to deliver higher quality legal education while promoting access to justice, strengthening the Rule of Law, and fostering a culture of pro-bono-minded services.

Mr. Sarwar and Mr. Mashraf, who co-run the EWU Law Clinic, showcased the achievements, challenges and opportunities of running the EWU Law Clinic in their paper presentation titled 'Strengthening Clinical Legal Education in Bangladesh: Lessons from the East West University Law Clinic Experience'. The paper presentation highlighted the inception and growth of the EWU Law Clinic since 2023, the challenges it has overcome, the impact of the EWU Law Clinic on EWU law graduates, and plans to upscale its activities. This opportunity enabled Mr. Sarwar and Mr. Mashraf to demonstrate the progress the EWU Department of Law has made in the field of CLE as the only private university in Bangladesh offering a law clinic program under the LLB (Honors) curriculum.

As a CLE program in its early stages, the EWU Law Clinic has garnered praise from experts worldwide, as well as suggestions for further development in the days to come. This initiative fosters strong networks with BABSEACLE and clinical legal educators from the USA, Australia, South Africa, the Philippines, Laos, and Thailand. 

Earlier in 2024, students from the Department of Law at East West University participated in the Asia CLE Mock Trial and Sentencing Hearing Event, reaching the semifinals and the final of that competition. Hence, participation in this Conference is a continuation of EWU's collaboration with BABSEACLE, which will enable EWU to be connected with similar regional and global initiatives on justice education. Participation in the Conference will also foster opportunities for international collaboration, both from faculty and student perspectives. Based on the takeaways from this Conference, the EWU Law Clinic, Department of Law, aims to host a Clinical Legal Education Conclave in the near future.