| Facultad de Derecho | |
|---|---|
| Established | 1969 |
| Type | Public |
| Dean | Ricardo I. Silberstein |
| Students | 4,000 |
| Location | 2020 Córdoba st, Rosario, SF, Argentina |
| Website | http://fder.unr.edu.ar |
The Facultad de Derecho is the Law School of the National University of Rosario, and is located in the former Palace of Justice Building, a Rosario landmark and a National Historic Monument.
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On June 27, 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 dependence of the National University of the Littoral, which is based in the city of Santa Fe.
On February 15, 1967, 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 National University of the Littoral.
The Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) was created by law N°17.987, passed on November 29, 1968. It began operating as such on December 16 of the same year. The incorporation of the Law School to this newly-created local University was imminent.
Shortly after, on March 15, 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.
Juan Canals, an entrepreneur, commissioned the British architect Herbert Boyd Walker, who conceived and built the building in 1892 as the Palace of Justice. 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 Canals, who was looking forward to recover his initial investment after 30 years of collecting rent. 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 Canals' bankruptcy, 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 building caught fire and its eastern wing was severely damaged. As a result, the Dr. Ángel Gallardo Provincial Natural Sciences Museum lost many of its collections, and had to move. Full restoration works began immediately after the fire and continue today. The building is expected to be fully restored and as of 2007, refurbisment works were 90% complete (including a substantia modernization of the facilities).[1]
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.