On April 4-6, 2016 in the framework of the USAID FAIR Justice Project, which provides expert support for the reform of legal education in Ukraine, Chairperson of the Committee on Science and Education Lilia Hrynevych made a study visit to Germany to learn the experience in the field of legal education.
The purpose of the educational visit was to study Germany’s experience in the field of legal education in order to bring the content of legal education in Ukraine into line with European requirements. The delegation members met with Professor of International and European Criminal Law Martin Bose, Dean of the Faculty of Law at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University of Bonn. According to Professor's words, the essence of the education is to prepare students for solving practical legal cases. Lilia Hrynevych pointed to the importance of discussing with the Professor the concept of "single lawyer" and preconditions for admission to the profession, guaranteeing quality education of students-lawyers, autonomy and self-government of law faculties and academic freedom of professors.
There was a discussion over cooperation and coordination of activities among law faculties in Germany, the importance of private legal higher-education institutions and their cooperation with universities, cooperation with other law faculties in Europe and opportunities for perfecting legal education through cooperation with the public and political circles.
The visit to the office of the German Foundation for International Legal Cooperation (IRZ) envisaged professional discussion over the importance, tasks and organization of legal training courses (tutoring) in Germany, selection of candidates and appointment of judges, evaluation of judges' professional activity and their career development.
In the Federal Office of Justice the delegation members got acquainted with the place of the Ministry of Justice of North Rhine-Westphalia in the field of legal education, tasks and structure of the Federal Office of Justice, the procedure of holding the first and second state legal examinations and legal protection against decisions on examinations' results. The delegation also met with heads of educational programs on economic law, auditing, taxation, law and finance at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences and Vice President of the Higher Regional Court of Cologne.