Legal Education and Judicial Training in Europe The Menu for Justice Project Report

The "Menu for Justice" project - funded with support from the European Commission - is the first European project that takes seriously the issue of how a new generation of Europeans should be trained in law and legal matters, as well as how experts in law and the judicial process can develop new skills and competences to effectively face the challenges of a common judicial space. The project takes up a major issue in contemporary judicial politics: to what extent and by which means can legally relevant expertise be supported to ensure an efficient, effective, and legitimate judicial system? This is not only a matter of policies and of the organization of judicial administrations, it is also a matter of how lawyers - and for more specific functions, judges - are trained considering the current, rapidly changing, societal circumstances. This book is a project report of "Menu for Justice." By devoting three years to the joint progress among 50 partners in Europe, the project assesses the key gaps in legal and judicial education in all European countries at all stages of education - from undergraduate, graduate, and PhD programs in universities to vocational training of lawyers and judges. By examining the "state of the art" of education for law students, lawyers, and judges in Europe, the "Menu for Justice" project offers vital information to policy makers considering the development of an innovative curriculum studiorum in judicial studies. It provides European institutions and the public with basic guidelines for monitoring the way legal and judicial training are changing in Europe. [Subject: Legal Education, European Law]