Professional Discussion on Legal Education Reform Held in Lviv

On 3 April, a roundtable discussion “Legal Education Reform as a Prerequisite for the Rule of Law, Democracy and European Integration of Ukraine” was held in Lviv at the initiative of EU Project Pravo-Justice in cooperation with the Ukrainian Catholic University. The event brought together representatives of the academic community, state institutions, media, experts and international partners to discuss the achievements and challenges of reforming the legal education system.

In particular, among the following systemic problems that have long hindered the development of legal education were identified:

• gap between the number of graduates and the quality of their training;
• lack of a clear institutional delineation between legal education and training for security and law enforcement agencies
• need to strengthen the practical component of training and academic integrity.

For her part, Oksana Tsymbrivska, Team Leader of EU Project Pravo-Justice, stressed that the reform of legal education is critical not only for the development of the justice system, but also for Ukraine’s progress in the European integration.

“Over the past 10 years, Ukraine has made significant progress in reforming its justice system and has moved to the EU accession negotiation process. At the same time, insufficient attention was paid to those who would fill the system in the future – lawyers-to-be. If we do not want to spend years fixing the system, we must start with its foundation, which is legal education. This is how future judges, prosecutors, and attorneys are trained. Today, this reform is part of the negotiation process: Ukraine has to meet interim benchmarks for the quality of legal education and access to the profession. These are not recommendations, but conditions for further progress towards the EU,” emphasised Oksana Tsymbrivska, Team Leader of EU Project Pravo-Justice.

At the same time, Svitlana Khyliuk, Dean of the Faculty of Law of the Ukrainian Catholic University, National Expert of EU Project Pravo-Justice, added that high-quality legal education is one of the prerequisites for Ukraine’s approximation to European standards of justice.

“Legal education reform is primarily about quality. Today, we are faced with the task of bridging the gap between the number of graduates and the quality of their training, ensuring that curricula meet European standards, and creating an environment where academic integrity, critical thinking, and practical skills are of key importance,” said Svitlana Khyliuk.

The participants of the discussion also paid special attention to the strategic guidelines of the reform:

• institutional delineation of legal education and training for security and law enforcement agencies
• raising the quality standards of education and selection of students
• updating the content of education in line with best European practices;
• strengthening the role of practical skills and ethics in the training of lawyers.

In addition, the roundtable presented an analytical report on the delineation of legal education and training of law enforcement officers in the context of Ukraine’s European integration.

“We are not talking just about changing curricula, but rather about changing the approach to the content of curricula in the context of shaping a high-quality and effective system of access to the legal profession. A clear distinction between legal education and training for law enforcement agencies, raising educational standards and strengthening the practical component of legal training are the steps that will allow to set up an effective justice system and establish the rule of law in Ukraine,” summarised Andrii Boiko, Professor of the Law department at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, National Expert of EU Project Pravo-Justice.

It is worth noting that the reform of legal education is one of the most important challenges for our society on the way to shaping a high-quality legal system, ensuring fair justice, and protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms. One of the key challenges of legal education reform, as outlined in the Rule of Law Roadmap, legal education shall be clearly distinct from training of law enforcement professionals. The need for institutional delineation of legal education and law enforcement training was also emphasised by the European Commission in its Ukraine Report for 2023 and 2024, as part of the negotiation process on Ukraine’s membership in the European Union.