East Timor: With Lisbon's help, first law school to open in January

Dili, Nov. 11 (Lusa) - The government has approved the opening in January of East Timor's first law school, a project co-financed by Portugal, a senior official said Friday.

Gregório de Sousa, the state secretary of the Council of Ministers, told Lusa the cabinet approved the move at a meeting Thursday.

De Sousa said the five-year course would be fully conducted in Portuguese by Portuguese law professors with Lisbon assuming responsibility for faculty salaries and Dili covering the law school's operating expenses.

Admission exams would begin later this month, he said, adding that fluency in Portuguese was a prerequisite.

Lisbon's aid programs in East Timor have focused heavily on education, above all on the re-introduction of the Portuguese language, and on helping set up the country's legal system, codes and courts.

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