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Preface
AlthoughtherehavebeenanumberofinitiativestoreformlegaleducationinCentraland
EasternEuropeoverthepasttwodecades,thereisadearthofliteratureonthesubject
comingfromtheregionitself.Thispublicationattemptstohelpllthatvoid.
Thebookistheproductofaconferenceon"TheNeedforaNewLawSchool,”which
wasorganizedbythePublicInterestLawInstitute(PILI)andtheCenterforForeignLaw
ProgramsoftheJagiellonianUniversityFacultyofLaw,inCracow,Poland,June19–21,
2008.
TherehavebeenmanydozensofconferencesheldinCentralandEasternEuropeon
particularaspectsoflegaleducation,ontopicssuchasinteractiveteachingmethodsor
innovativecurricularadditionslikeuniversity-basedlegalaidclinics.Therehasbeen
preciouslittleattentionpaid,however,totheunderlyingconstraintspreventinglaw
facultiesintheregionfromtransformingtheeducationalexperiencefortheirstudentsto
thesamedegreeasthelegalsystemsthatthelawfacultiesprofesstostudyandelucidate
have,themselves,beentransformed.
ThepushandpullofchangeandconstrainthavebeenexperiencedinCentral
andEasternEuropeatthesametimethatEuropeasawholehasbeenengagedinan
effortdubbedthe"Bolognaprocess”afteradeclarationofintentsignedin1999
bytwenty-nineEuropeancountriesinBologna,ItalytotransformEuropeanhigher
education.IncontrastwiththereformeffortsinCentralandEasternEuropestemming
fromtheregion’sownuniquetrajectory,theBolognaProcesshasbeendrivenprimarily
byconcernswithmobilityandcompetitivenessastheEuropeanUnionhasexpanded
bothgeographicallyandeconomically.
Still,asEuropecontinuestointegrate,thesetwopathsconverge,andreform
ideascomingfromtheBolognaProcesssuchastheneedtoproducestudentswith
competenciesrelevanttothemodernjobmarketfoundtheirplaceintheconference
alongsideinstitutionalproblemsderivingfromtheeconomictransformationfromstate
socialism.ParticipationoflawfacultiesfromCentralandEasternEuropeinbothdebates
iscriticallyimportantlestanopportunitybelosttoconsiderboththeentrenchedproblems
andrecentadvancesoftheregionwithinbroaderEuropeanreformefforts.
Amongtheproblemsconfrontingmanylawfacultiesintheregionare:(i)low
professorialsalaries;(ii)obscurecriteriaforacademicadvancement;(iii)excessively
largestudentbodies;(iv)insufficientnancialandhumanresources;(v)out-of-date
curricula;(vi)lackofacademicfreedom;and(vii)educationaloutcomeswhichfall
shortinareassuchasfosteringcriticalthinking,developingproblem-solvingskills,