JURISTENAUSBILDUNG FÜR EUROPA – DER WEG DER DEUTSCHEN JURISTENAUSBILDUNG VOM NATIONAL-STAATLICHEN JUSTIZJURISTEN ZUM EUROPÄISCHEN RECHTSMANAGER
A Legal Education for Europe – The German legal education drifting from a judiciary-oriented training of national-state jurists towards a new focus ..

Summary/Abstract: The author describes and comments on the already visible change of the legal education in Europe, particularly in Germany. The new role model aims at an „European Jurist” in terms of a cosmopolitan manager of legal services who masters three languages (English, German, French), studied at least one year abroad and prefers to become a practicing lawyer rather than a judge. The „European Jurist” has been trained in the essentials of law per se and in the legal solution of problems, not in the positivistic details and doctrinal intricacies of a national legal order. He or she represents a new mode of jurisprudential intellectuality and, at the same time, of skillful capability to solving problems in the modern European society, economy and political-administrative system. Rather than the law of the European Union, the „European jurist” is familiar with „European law” in terms of the different legal systems in the European member states. He or she truly understands the similarities, differences and the specialties of the legal systems in the member states, is aware of their historic roots and combines an excellent comprehension of comparative jurisprudence with the practical application of law and with the omnipotent ability of problem solving. Therefore, he or she is superior to the „classical” German jurists of previous generations who have been trained in the traditional German extra way. This traditional extra way is based on a state-organized and state-controlled juridical education. Its role model is a law student who wants to become a Judge or at least plans to work for the government. The old way, which is still lingering on in some respects, wants to create „Generalists” in terms of „unitary jurists” (Einheitsjuristen) instead of specialists in different fields of law. This special path was developed in Prussia in the 19th century. It consists of a dualistic method of training future jurists: At first they study the theoretical and doctrinal issues of academic jurisprudence at law departments of universities before they enter a legal apprenticeship (Referendariat) to familiarize themselves with the practical challenges of the living law and of everyday lawyering. Notwithstanding some hesitant modernizations in the legal education (like a more lawyer-oriented „Referendariat”, courses in foreign legal terminology, communicative soft skills, choice of specialization in the universities), the German legal education still adhered, until recently, to the traditional goals and methods. The author recapitulates the history of the German legal education up to the recent Bologna-debate. He points out that an enhanced internationalization and amplified Europeanization is already on its most promising way. The traditional German legal education is a phenomenon of the past; the future belongs to the „European-Jurist” in terms of a cosmopolitan manager of legal services.

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