The implementation of free market oriented economic policy in Ethiopia, the increasing international roles & responsibilities of the country’s public service institutions, and the consequent need for highly qualified legal experts were the major reasons for launching the program.  
The shortage of highly skilled experts and professionals in law has been a point of concern in the national development and poverty alleviation endeavors. The new international developments have also brought about new challenges and opportunities in international political and economic relations and these, added to the domestic developments, have necessitated the presence of qualified legal experts in the Ethiopian public sector who can work according to the new global and regional context and contribute to national development. The program is designed to contribute to these. To make the program more effective, there is also pre‐session training on some basic skills of English, internet and intranet operation, and term‐paper writing for fresh students before they start the regular class sessions.  
Accordingly, the general objective of the program is to build capacity of the legal profession in the public sector of the country by providing participants with advanced knowledge and skill that will enable them to:  
• advise the public sector on contemporary international law issues;

• analyze and execute international law instruments according to new national policies;

• conduct research and teach on contemporary issues related to international law; and

• meet the policy requirements of the federal and regional governments.