A New European Model of Legal Education as One of the Institutional Elements of the New European Common Law

The aim of this paper is to suggest that the development of a common European legal language could be effectively achieved by means of a truly European legal education. The educational dimension of European law, as opposed to its substantive dimension, is briefly described in its current state, before putting forward a proposal for a new model. This proposal needs to be developed with reference also to the North American system of legal education, whose uniformity, at least at the highest level, allows the development of a common legal language. Therefore, I briefly describe the method and content of the North American legal education, as well as the critiques it has received.Taking these premises into account, I build a model curriculum for European legal education, which borrows some features from the North American model of legal education, but maintains some European peculiarities, since it recognizes and supports the undeniable role that national legal systems play in the field of legal education.This new model of European legal education is described through five elements. As for the addressees, this model should try to have a degree of attractiveness also towards non-European students; the selection process has to take place before entering the law school and also during the course of study; the funding of the universities should become more and more independent from public funds, which however could still play an important role if well allocated; the professors are key-figures in this model, since they act as a trait d'union between its different components; finally, as for the regulation of studies, I stress the importance of comparative law as a method and I suggest a course structure composed of three years focused on national legislation and two years focused on teaching common law of Europe.