ABSTRACT

This chapter focuses on German legal education. It introduces the general structure of legal education in Germany, and explains its purposes and methods, relating to criticism as well as evaluating the influence of globalization. Law students need to acquire a certain level of high school degree, called the “Abitur’, in order to pass the general university entrance conditions. Only public universities and their law faculties are allowed to offer general study of law in Germany. German law students deal primarily with applicable law, its systematic and conceptual penetration and interpretation as well as its relationship to other areas of life such as politics, the economy and social structure. The primary goal of legal education in Germany is to be qualified as a judge and in particular to work in the legal profession, although in fact only a small percentage of successful graduates will actually become judges. At German universities there are basically no admission restrictions for law students.