ISSN 2219-746X EISSN 2219-7478
EDUCATION
RECEIVED 18.02.2015 ACCEPTED 25.04.2015 PUBLISHED 01.06.2015
DOI: 10.15550/ASJ.2015.03.040
THE IMPROVEMENT OF LEGAL EDUCATION
IN THE CONTEXT OF SPECIFIC HISTORICAL
CONDITIONS
A. Tsaliev
Constitutional Court of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, Russia
[email protected]
Abstract. The article analyses the ways of improvement of juridical education in Russian Federation. It
considers the advisability of transition of Russia to the Bologna system of education and explains a necessity
of taking into account national experience while training specialists. It suggests to include “Human rights and
their protection” and “Municipal law” into federal state educational standards as obligatory course.
Keywords: juridical education, legal education, law, Russia, Bologna system.
Introduction
The USSR has been taking one of the leading places in the world as for the education level. This became
possible due to the education policy started from in 30s of last century. As it is known, at that time the vast
majority of the Russian population was illiterate, but only three decades later a cultural revolution took place
in Russia. The famous Russian philosopher A. Zinoviev wrote that the achievements in the field of culture
and education during that period were grandiose. According to him, the educational and the cultural level was
the highest in the whole Russian history. That was the opinion of a man who was not only a well-known
dissident, but also, according to him, one of the organizers of the assassination attempt on Stalin. But he
couldn’t help saying that, because the high educational level of the Russians, which allowed them to be the
first in the world to launch an artificial satellite and later to realize the first human flight into the space, has
been recognized all over the world. Not for nothing the U.S. President D. Kennedy recognized that the USSR
won in space race thanks to its education system. Paradoxically, according to the index of the education
published by the UN at the end of 2011, Russia took the 49th place in the world, whereas in the second half of
the last century it was taking one of the highest (the second place in 50-s, the third in 60-s). The reason of
such a success was not only the right for free secondary and professional education granted by the
Constitution, but also the organization of educational process based on tight contact between the teacher and
the pupil, the theory and the practice. However, the Russian neoliberals from the educational and official
sphere, eagering for reforms, rejected all this without any analysis or any evaluation of the state of education.
They took as a reference the western European standards. Thus not only the whole national practical
experience in training specialists was rejected, but also the difference of mentality between the Russian and
foreign students.
Ignoring concrete historical context, especially in transition periods, brings to opposite results from
wished. This was the case with the higher education reforms: we’ve been thoughtlessly involved in Bologna
Process, unlike all authoritative non-state higher education institutions of Europe, and now we disentangle the
consequences of such choice. It is reasonable to agree with Professor N. S. Bondar that half-baked changes,
including those under slogans of modernization processes and reforms, can conflict to national and historical
traditions in the field of education and to result the loss of the reached (Bondar, 2013).
Adopting by Russia the Bologna education system which means going away from free education enters
to more and more noticeable contradictions both with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and with
fundamental interests of the Russian society. In particular, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation
in its Definition of 15.04.2008 noticed the following:
“The accessibility of the higher education at the existing level of income of most of the population of our
country means, first of all, the opportunity of getting it for free. The basis of the state guarantees of free
higher education for Russian citizens within the state educational standards is the public and (or) municipal
financing of the education in higher educational institutions". Unfortunately, today the state doesn't finance
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educational programs and doesn't define their content. At some point it means withdrawal, though partial, of
the state from the higher education (Sherbak, 2011) which is difficult to disagree with, especially taking into
account the historical particularities and the traditions of Russian education where the crucial role was always
played by the state.
Results
1. The western education system and the technology of training specialists correspond to its historical
traditions and are based on philosophy of individualism, independence and self-sufficiency, in a word – on the
autonomy of the person. The Russian system was formed on the basis of the philosophy of collectivism and
on corresponding social values. This can not be ignored in no way, as well as the differences in mental sets of
Russian and American and European students. For example, while the latter rely only on their individual
knowledge and skills during the tests, Russian students often count on help of their friends. As an example we
can give the result of a sociological research: students were asked if they would help their friend during a test.
Russian students answered affirmatively. American and European ones - negatively. Russian students
explained their answer by the altruistic motives and foreign ones by the need of making personal efforts for
getting education, further employment and making carrier in highly concurential environment
In the Western system of education and training of specialists the active role is played by the student
himself therefore the developed technologies of studying are quite suitable for him. In the Russian education
system, on the contrary, an important role was assigned to the teacher and his direct communication with
students. In my opinion, such a methodology of training specialists should be conserved, especially when we
talk about future lawyers. Taking into account that law activity in many aspects has a public character and it
requires considerable emotional and psychological efforts and intense interpersonal communication when
defending interests and rights of other persons in judicial, law enforcement and other authorities, training and
testing should be held in the conditions closed to the real ones.
This statement is confirmed by the par. 8.4 of Federal state educational standards of higher professional
education (FSES HPE) of preparing of bachelors, which obliges the higher education institutions to adapt
their educational programs, intermediate tests and exams to the real life conditions. To make this real the
training is assured not only by the professors of the given subject, but also by the external experts and the
specialists in adjacent disciplines.
For its turn, FSES HPE of preparing of masters (p. 8.7) makes it obligatory to test the level of the
graduate’s speech culture during the defense of qualifying work. Therefore, the only way to get solid skills in
the correct legal speech and the logic in expositing material is having regular discussions during workshops,
business games, exams etc.
The modern form of teaching by means of a didactic method with artificially implanted testing method
for testing student’s knowledge doesn't give the chance to the students to show their personal qualities which
is very important for their future profession. Absence of contact during teaching and testing leads to braking
personal links between the teacher and the student and excludes initiative and creative participation of a
student in educational process, and, in my opinion, doesn't contribute to a high-quality training of a modern
jurist. Only the system of passing exams, tested by many years practice, lets the students reveal his
professional knowledges, as well as his ability to think logically, to choose quickly the tactics of building the
answer, proving his point of view. The testing system seems to be sufficient in some specific situations,
regarding specific questions, as an intermediate stage for checking knowledges, at the most. Tests cannot
replace the examination and cannot become the main mean to evaluate student’s knowledges. In the higher
education system the kernel determining the assimilation of knowledges by the students and the system
assuring the accumulation in their consciousness of this knowledge is the organization and management of
educational process by the teacher. The points and rating system based on testing results and evaluation of
current progress, when the final mark is given to a student by the computer with no teacher participation,
cannot contribute to efficient professional training of students.
The quality of higher education depends on mutual interest between teachers and students, on creating a
training process where the main goal is acquiring knowledge. The teacher is the main initiator in transferring
knowledges to the students, but also in helping to understand the knowledge. But without a real-life
communication between teachers and students including the time of the examinations, there is no activation of
personal and intellectual potential of students.
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2. The further development of legal education depends on the improvement of programs of training of
students-jurists. Here we talk first of all about including in the FSES HPE for bachelors, "Human rights and
their protection" as a mandatory discipline, no matter the specialization is. For example, in the educational
system of many democratic constitutional states a particular attention is paid to the human rights study and
the corresponding disciplines within the legal education are considered as basic ones. In Russia, according to
FSES HPE, even at faculties of law the studying of human rights and freedoms is not an obligatory subject.
Thus, unlike the Constitution of the USA and of many other states, the Constitution of the Russian Federation
in Art. 2 determines that a man, his rights and freedoms are the supreme value, and their recognition,
observance and protection is an obligation of the state!
The principle of a priority of human rights and freedoms is also fixed in other articles of the Constitution
of the Russian Federation (Arts. 6, 17, 18, 19, 55, etc.) and is reflected in various branches of the Russian
legislation. The Russian President V. V. Putin repeatedly paid attention in his speeches to the strict
observance of this principle. Thus, in one of his messages to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation
(Rossiyskaya gazeta, 26 April of 2005) he emphasized that "undoubtedly, the ensuring of human rights and
freedoms is crucial, both for development of the economy and for political life of Russia".
Not less important role for human rights, freedoms and duties is allocated in Bases of a state policy of the
Russian Federation in the field of development of legal knowledge and legal conscience of the citizens. They
proclaim human priority, inalienable human rights and freedom, and emphasise the necessity of promotion
and explanation of their rights and duties to the citizens, respect of rights and legal interests of other persons.
The studying of rights and freedoms, of the means of their protection are becoming more and more
important in the society for many other reasons. First, there is a continuous reforming of the Russian
legislation, including the regulation of rights and freedoms. Second, new state bodies are created, both on
federal, and on regional levels whose functional duty is protection of human rights and freedoms (Human
Rights Committees, Commissioners for Human Rights, ombudsmen for children, Constitutional (statutory)
courts). Third, the Council of Europe constantly "completes" not only the legislation, but also the European
system of human rights protection by new institutes. Knowing them is an indispensable condition of effective
protection of the rights and freedoms. Fourth, Russia has international obligations according to the
Declaration and the program of citizens’ education in the spirit of democracy, based on their understanding of
their rights and duties, adopted by the Committee of ministers of the Council of Europe in 1999.
In order to bring Russian legal education up to the world standards, more attention should be paid to
socio-economic disciplines: civil and commercial law, labor law, social law, constitutional law. They should
be modernized according to the socio-economic orientation of the country.
As part of improving of legal education, and considering the urgency, it is necessary to restore in FSES
HPE the former status of such disciplines as "The constitutional law of foreign countries" and "The municipal
law". As it is well noticed by the specialists, these disciplines shouldn't be optional. The first of them has an
important methodological role in training of students because comparative analysis allows to learn various
institutes of a constitutional right in a deeper way, especially human rights and freedoms, the form of a state
system and government, the organization and the functioning of public institutions, the distribution of areas of
jurisdiction and influence between the central and the regional authorities etc. In its turn, the course
"Municipal law" is designed to give the students all necessary knowledge of one of the youngest and
problematic institutes of the public authority, the one which deals with the daily issues of the Russian citizens
the most. Jurists must have clear notions in organization and functioning of local self-governments
institutions, about their rights and the responsibility in solving problems on local level.
3. Though in Russia, as well as in other countries, the absolute priority is given to studying national law,
nevertheless, in order to train highly qualified jurists an important place should be allocated to learning norms
and institutions of the European and international law, constitutional law of different countries. In the Soviet
period they were not paid due attention to, because of the lack o possibility of their practical application.
After the adoption of the Constitution of the Russian Federation in 1993 declaring that:: first, "the
conventional principles and norms of international law and the international contracts of the Russian
Federation are the integral part of its legal system" (art. 15 p. 4), secondly, "in the Russian Federation the
human rights and freedoms are recognized according to the common principles and norms of international
law" (art. 17 p.1), they started to be paid more attention to in the system of legal education and science.
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Students and experts had a considerable interest in norms and institutes of the international and European law,
as well as in constitutional law of foreign countries.
Unfortunately, the more and more frequent cases of violation by some countries, especially by the USA,
of the universally recognized principles and norms of international law and of international treaties diminish
their authority. Students, and not only them, have more and more doubt about their social value as regulators
of the international relations. But the mankind didn't find other tools for peaceful resolution of regional and
international conflicts yet. Therefore the legal education and science have to learn deeper and in a more
detailed way the social value of conventional principles and of norms of international law and of international
treaties in building a stable world order.
Discussion
To improve legal education and training of specialists it is necessary: 1) to take into account concrete
historical features of a nation, its national traditions, its character and mentality; 2) an optimum combination
of former, settled methods of training specialists-jurists where the active role is played by a teacher with
modern progressive techniques and technologies of training of students; 3) to include the "Human Rights and
Ways of Their Protection" as an obligatory discipline into the Russian FSES HPE.
References
Bondar, N. (2013). Modern reference points of the Russian legal education: national traditions or
cosmopolitan illusions? Legal education and science, 1.
Sherbak, E. (2011). Some aspects of improvement of the state policy in the field of regulation of the higher
education. Right and state: theory and practice, 12 (84).
The message of the Russian President to Federal Assembly of April 25, 2005 "The Message of the President
of Russia Vladimir Putin to Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation". Rossiyskaya Gazeta, April 26,
2005.
This paper has been presented at the International Conference
“SCIREPS EDUCATION FORUM” in Paris (April 25-30, 2015).
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