EditorialJane Ching; Sjoerd Claessens
Cooperation in legal education in Europe – the role of the European Law Faculties Association (ELFA) in its first thirty years of existence and the challenges for the futureAndreas Ziegler
ELFA thesis awardsLaurence W. Gormley
30 years of ELFA: legal education between traditions and modernitiesDiana Kovatcheva
Embedding freedom of expression in legal education: rights-based pedagogy and participatory practiceJade Brailsford; Simon Sneddon
This article argues that freedom of expression, protected under article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), should be understood not only as a legal doctrine but as a pedagogical principle central to democratic legal education. Drawing on the Level 4 module LAW1024 Ethics, Discrimination and Human Rights, it examines how article 10 reasoning can structure classroom dialogue, assessment, and institutional practice. The analysis combines doctrinal interpretation with critical and discomfort-based pedagogy, proposing that students learn law most effectively when they practise justification, pluralism, and deliberation within the learning process itself. While lecture capture and digital monitoring enhance accessibility, they may also inhibit openness and dialogic teaching, producing self-censorship that limits academic freedom. Embedding article 10, therefore, requires re-examining classroom norms, assessment design, and institutional governance to ensure that expression is both protected and purposeful. The article advances a model for integrating rights-based pedagogy into law curricula, positioning legal education as a space for civic reasoning and democratic participation.
Ibidun Olude; Opeyemi Adebari; Oluwafunmilayo Adeyanju; Omolade Olomola
In the last 20 years, law clinics have sprung up across Nigerian Law Faculties and Schools of Law to address the significant gap in access to legal aid for vulnerable groups. These clinics provide both practical legal education for students and free or subsidised legal services to the public. This article argues the effectiveness of law clinics in reaching vulnerable populations, particularly illiterates, children, and marginalised women in patriarchal communities. It also highlights the limitations faced in providing legal aid. The article deploys Thomas Hobbes’ social justice theory and Martha Fineman’s vulnerability theory as a framework and adopts both doctrinal and qualitative methods. It draws on primary and secondary sources including the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015, Child’s Rights Act 2023, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979). The Women’s Law Clinic, University of Ibadan and Chrisland University Community Law Clinic served as case studies. Findings revealed that legal literacy efforts in indigenous languages through community radio are effective in enhancing access to justice and technology also presents opportunities to improve service delivery. The article recommends informed legal education, policy reforms, and innovative legal aid delivery models within Nigeria’s justice system.
Mikheil Bichia
This article explores the transformation of Georgian legal education in relation to digital innovation and European integration. The study delves into how the use of technology and interdisciplinary approaches are reshaping the content and delivery of legal training, focusing on digital tools, educational reforms, and regulatory frameworks. By using normative, analytical, comparative, and sociological methods, this research evaluates current practices and identifies areas for improvement. Normative analysis assesses the legal standards governing the integration of educational technology, whilst analytical methods examine curriculum content and patterns of technology adoption in Georgian law schools. Comparative case studies identify transferable best practices from other jurisdictions. Key findings reveal significant institutional challenges, including inconsistent faculty readiness for digital tools, limited innovation in the curriculum, and shortcomings in the practical implementation of technology. However, successful initiatives that improve student engagement and international competitiveness are also highlighted. The research examines how technology affects key areas of contemporary legal practice such as court proceedings, electronic case management, and digital evidence. It explores whether these technological changes support or replace traditional legal skills. The findings underscore the need for interdisciplinary competencies, as traditional teaching methods may not adequately prepare students for technology-driven legal practice. The article advocates for curriculum modernisation that incorporates elements from fields such as economics, informatics, and data science, aiming to develop versatile legal professionals capable of navigating ongoing technological transformations.
Soukaina Abdallah-Ou-Moussa; Jivko Draganov
The article analyses some of the publicly announced university policies, rules and procedures on the use of AI as well as some non-binding rules at European level. This is a topic of interest in both legal education and in other fields. However, most of the universities in Bulgaria and in Morocco have no special policies or rules for AI. In such cases they apply general antiplagiarism rules and ethical rules and standards to use of AI and of AI-created works. In Bulgaria there are just a few universities that have announced such policies or rules and procedures. In Morocco, although national strategies promoting digital transformation and AI in education have been introduced, universities have not yet adopted specific frameworks regulating the use of AI in scientific research. Most institutions continue to rely on general academic integrity and research ethics codes, which are not fully adapted to AI-generated content and its implications for authorship and originality. That leaves some issues, such as the sustainable and transparent use of AI, as well as the disclosure of AI involvement in research, unaddressed. Besides that, the general rules are not appropriate for some specifics of the use of AI in science research.