Reform of legal education in the context of European integration: Supreme Court judge in the Administrative Cassation Court takes part in expert discussion

Judge of the Supreme Court in the Administrative Cassation Court Myroslava Bilak joined an expert discussion on the topic “Reform of Legal Education as a Condition for the Rule of Law, Democracy, and Ukraine’s European Integration”. The event was organised by the EU project Pravo-Justice in cooperation with the Ukrainian Catholic University.

The event brought together representatives of the academic community, state institutions, media, and international experts to discuss the results and challenges in the training of legal professionals. The reform of legal education is a key factor in building a high-quality legal system, ensuring fair justice, and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. One of the key problems identified in the Roadmap on the Rule of Law is the institutional separation between the education of lawyers and the training of law enforcement personnel.

The participants of the meeting analysed the achievements, challenges, and outlined strategic guidelines for the reform of legal education. Among the systemic problems that have long hindered the development of the sector are:

• the imbalance between the number of graduates and the quality of their training;
• the lack of a clear distinction between classical legal education and the training of personnel for law enforcement agencies;
• the need to strengthen the practical component of education and to uphold the principles of academic integrity.

The discussion also focused on the strategic priorities of the reform:

• distinguishing between legal education and the training of personnel for the security and law enforcement sector;
• raising training standards and improving the criteria for selecting applicants;
• updating educational programmes taking into account leading European practices;
• strengthening the role of practical skills and ethics in the training of legal professionals.

During the discussion, Myroslava Bilak, in particular, noted that in the process of a judge applying (specifying) legal norms within disputed legal relations, a new element can be introduced into the understanding of a legal norm. This leads to the recognition of another source of law — judge-made law, to which Professor Mykola Kozyubra paid considerable attention. In her opinion, the proper implementation of the principle of the rule of law is impossible without a solid academic foundation, specialised training, and appropriate knowledge of legal theory, the philosophy of law, and other disciplines, which together shape independent critical thinking among legal professionals. In the context of the presented study on the separation of legal education and the training of law enforcement personnel, the judge recommended taking into account the practice of the Administrative Cassation Court of the Supreme Court regarding the passage of public service. In examining these legal relations, the Court defined the criteria and ethical standards that arise from the content of the oath, the status, and the functions that must be met by judges, prosecutors, lawyers, notaries, as well as law enforcement specialists. It is precisely through such administrative cases, and the consequences of their resolution, that relevant conclusions can be drawn during the analysis of the presented study regarding the necessity and expediency of distinguishing between the existing programmes in legal education for training lawyers and law enforcement specialists.