Facultad de Derecho (UNR)

Infobox_University
name= Facultad de Derecho


established= 1969
type= Public
dean= Ricardo I. Silberstein
location= 2020 Córdoba st, Rosario, SF, Argentina
students= +4.000
website= http://fder.unr.edu.ar

The "Facultad de Derecho" is Rosario's Law School. It belongs to the Universidad Nacional de Rosario. It is located in the "Ex-Palacio de Justicia" building, a National Historic Monument.

History

The law School

On June 27th, 1959, an "institution for the teaching of law" was created in Rosario, as a result of the demands made by the law students from Rosario who had to travel daily to Santa Fe, located 170 km to the north, in order to attend classes. This institution was a mere dependence of the Universidad Nacional del Litoral, which is based in the city of Santa Fe.

On february 15th, 1967, the resolution Nº 75 was passed by Dr. Carlos María Gelly y Obes, the National education minister. As a consequence of this, the "institution for the teaching of law" became the Law School. Nevertheless, it was still dependent of the Santa Fe's Universidad Nacional del Litoral

The Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) was created by law N°17.987, passed on November 29th, 1968. It began operating as such on December 16th of the same year. The incorporation of the Law School to this newly-created local University was imminent.

Shortly after, on March 15th 1969, the National Government passed decree N°1528: The Law and Political sciences school of Rosario had been created and incorporated to the Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR). Accordingly, the Law School was not subordinated to Santa Fe's Universidad Nacional del Litoral anymore.

Students from Political sciences and law attended classes together until 1974, when the students of Political sciences were given their own building. Since then, the designation "Law school of Rosario" is employed.

The building

Mr. Juan Canals, an entrepreneur, contacted the British architect Herbert Boyd Walker, who conceived and built the "Ex-Palacio de Justicia" building in 1892. The building constitutes a singular example of the ecletic style common at the end of the century. It has a strong French and Italian influence, which can be seen in its two internal galleries and patios, or in its many justice-related sculptures. Perhaps the most notable reference of the building is the tower, which has a bell and a giant clock on its top.

It was built in a plot donated partly by the Rosario City Hall and partly by Mr. Juan Canals, who was looking forward to recover its initial inversion after 30 years of collecting rents. Before the construction, the place was occupied by the "Las Carretas" square. The project also included two more buildings: one of them is today an elementary school, while the other one is a detachment of the provincial government.

In 1912, following the bankruptcy of Mr. Canals, the property of the buildings was transferred to the provincial government.

Since its creation and until 1960, the edifice was used by the city courts of law. It was known as the "Palacio de Justicia". On 1960 the city courts of law had to move due to the needs of Rosario's growing population. Almost 50 years have passed since then; however, people still refer to the building as the "Ex-Palacio de Justicia".

Shortly after the Courts of Law had moved, the building was used to house a new institution dedicated to the teaching of law and political sciences, as well as the "Gallardo" Natural History Museum on the upper floor. The institution later became the Law and Political Sciences school. In 1974, the Political Sciences school was given its own building, so all that remained was the Law School and the Natural History Museum.

In 1997, by decree N° 262/97, the building was declared a National Historic Monument.

In 2003, the edifice caught fire and was severely damaged. As a result, the "Gallardo" Natural History Museum had to move. Full restoration works began immediately after the fire and continue today. The building is expected to be fully restored and painted anew in the forthcoming years.

Careers

The Law career is divided into an introductory course of three months, a basic cycle of 1 year and finally, the advanced cycle, which is the backbone of the career and takes around 5 years to be completed. After passing all of the different stages, the student becomes a Lawyer. (In Argentina, there is no need to be further examined by a Bar association, as in other countries).

This School of Law also imparts post-graduate courses such as public notary, Doctorate in Law and several specific masters.

See also

* Universidad Nacional de Rosario
* Rosario, Argentina

External links

* [http://www.fder.unr.edu.ar/ UNR's Law school web site.]
* [http://www.unr.edu.ar/ UNR's web site.]