AID grant no. AID/NE-G-1627 to Social Science Research Council to provide support for a program of research, training and conference activities related to the project for law and social structures in the Near East (PLSS)

The project is part of a joint effort of SSRC and the American Council of Learned Societies. A series of workshops and conferences dealing with legal issues will be held in conjuction with host country academic and research institutions. The following legal topics will be addressed: (1) personal status or family law -- laws governing relations between husband and wife, women"s and children"s law, and divorce; (2) laws concerning property, including heritability, land reform, and religious endowments; (3) tax law, especially as it relates to equality, privilege, income distribution, and government use of taxation to advance social causes; (4) social legislation -- laws relating to education, health care, labor policy, and other quality of life issues; and (5) laws governing minorities and civil rights. A 6-week summer institute to provide training in legal research will be held at a Middle Eastern university, possibly in Egypt, Syria, or Tunisia. Up to 16 U.S. and indigenous social scientists and legal scholars will attend. Although the institute will focus on legal and social science research, the role of law in national development will be an important component. Faculty and visiting lecturers will consist of scholars from the United States and the Middle East. Finally, a program of fellowships for postdoctoral and postlegal research training at a U.S. institution will be established for Middle Eastern scholars. Training will focus not on American law or legal practice but on social science research that can be applied to law. It is expected that many of the applicants will be drawn from participants in the summer institute.