Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin - European Law School Network

The European Law School has set itself the goal of offering its students an education that will meet the requirements of a truly European Lawyer.

Despite the fact that its significance and scope are constantly increasing, European law and the techniques for applying it are insufficiently taught in traditional legal studies. Thanks to the creation of the European Lawyer programme, for the first time an integrated European programme of legal studies now exists for a small group of exceptionally talented law students of the Humboldt Universität in Berlin, King’s College, and the Université Panthéon-Assas in Paris, as well as La Sapienza University in Rome and the Universiteit van Amsterdam.

Participants in the programme first study for three years in their home countries and then, for the purpose of specialisation, one year each in two of the partner countries. Thus, for example, a student from King’s College continues his or her studies at the Université Pantheon-Assas or La Sapienza-Rome 1 in the fourth year of studies and attends the Humboldt Universität or the Universiteit van Amsterdam in the fifth; a German student likewise first goes to Paris or Rome and then to London or Amsterdam.

At the home university, students principally study the national Law in the traditional curriculum. In addition, they will acquire a deeper knowledge of European law. Another focus lies in the conveyance of modern legal skills (such as negotiating, mediation, and the drafting of legal documents). These seminars are, for the most part, conducted in collaboration with leading law firms and well-known companies, in order early on to provide students with a more distinct appreciation of legal practice. The European part of the training, as well as a deepening of students’ knowledge, then follow during the two years of study abroad, with students choosing their specialisation in either private law, commercial law, public law or criminal law. The subject matter consists of common European law and – to the extent that there has not been harmonisation – the principal approaches in Europe’s three main legal systems. During their time in London, Amsterdam, Paris and/or Rome, students simultaneously develop their linguistic knowledge up to the level of scholarly discourse.

Students apply to the programme at their home university. Once admitted, they go through a unique cross-border training without any further need for applications or any further delays. Thanks to the special cooperation in the European Law School Network, students at the European Law School acquire the possibility of obtaining three university degrees within 5 or 6 years: The German state examination or LL.M. at the Humboldt-University, the LL.M. at King’s College in London or the Unviersity of Amsterdam, the French Master I or the Italian Laurea Magistrale. 

An important part of the European Lawyer programme is represented by the summer schools. Once a year, students from all the participating countries come together, in order to practice modern legal skills and, cutting across national borders, to reflect collectively on questions such as: “What are the functions of law in society?” and “What are the spiritual foundations of law in Europe?”. 

The “European Lawyer” course offerings are consistently superior to classical law courses: They offer incomparably more intensive training in the major European subject matters, contacts to renowned professors at the partner universities, the opportunity to learn two foreign languages in a subject-specific way on location in the respective host country, and early practice in the most central modern skills. Graduates display above-average communication skills, confidence in dealing with complex new problems, and legal creativity.

In particular, constant practice in the techniques of comparing laws and comparing legal solutions enables students to act creatively as lawyers. Graduates are thus especially well-prepared for scholarly and legislative activities, and also, of course, for roles in international law firms and businesses and European and/or international organizations and institutions, as well as in administration and the higher courts.

European networking is incomparably more intensive than in competing programs, since students from all five countries truly go through a significant part of their studies together and contact to alumni is both created and promoted.

In this connection, the European Law School is both a brand name and a programmatic project name. The outstanding reputation of the leading sites of legal training in France (Paris, Panthéon-Assas) or of Europe’s biggest university in Rome (La Sapienza - Rome 1), of the classical college in London (King’s College), of the Universiteit van Amsterdam and, last but not least, of the Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin guarantees the highest standards and top quality in the training of European lawyers. It is not only a matter of its being the first law school that offers an integrated programme of national and European training and that thus does justice to European legal realities, but also, in the long-run, of the characteristic network it represents. The plan is to integrate one or two more elite universities from each partner country into this network, as well as from a few other member states.