프랑스 대학 법학부의 전문 직업교육

It is very difficult to draw parallels with the Korean and France legal education system, because colleges and universities in France are very different from high education institutions in Korea. In Korea, though there are exceptions, before studying law in law schools, students must earn a bachelor’s degree of four years after receiving their high school diploma. In France, students must obtain a Baccalaureat, the highest degree in high schools in order to begin university study. After receiving their high school diploma, students who choose legal studies will be accessed directly to a law department of a university. French legal education provides different degrees. After three years of legal study, a “Licence en droit” equivalent to the Korean bachelor’s degree in legal studies is awarded. One additional year of study is required to obtain a “Maîtrise en droit” which is equivalent to the Korean MA, American J.D., or UK LL.B. After the Maîtrise, the French student is qualified to take an exam to enter a “bar school of law” to study practical aspects of law for one year. On the last year of their studies, the student can take the bar exam. This is only if he or she wants to plead before courts. Licence en droit is a full degree that can be awarded after three years of legal studies. The Licence often marks completion of a student’s academic education, though many students go on to take a Maîtrise which will authorize the candidates to sit the bar exam. Maîtrise en droit is a master’s degree that can be obtained after four years of legal studies. The Maîtrise is built upon the specialization developed during the degree course. Students are required to submit a thesis to conclude this year of study. The Maîtrise en droit is an equivalent of the American J.D. DEA en droit, or Diplôme d’Études Approfondies, is an advanced postgraduate studies degree. Postgraduate degree requires five years of legal studies. Students are required to submit a thesis to conclude this year of study. It is also equivalent to the American LL.M. Doctorat en droit is a Ph.D. degree in law, received nine to twelve years after baccalauréat, or three to six years after a DEA. Legal education in France starts immediately after high school. Specialized legal education in France is undertaken by law school which is an entity within a large university. French law schools are affiliated with public universities, and therefore public institutions. As a result, law schools have an obligation to admit anyone with a high school diploma. However, the failure rate is very high, up to 70%, during the first two years of the “license fee.” There are no major disparities in the quality of French law schools. Many universities focus on their respective city and region. In France after 1968, universities were divided into branches, which replaced the previously existing faculties. For example, the University of Paris now has 13 branches, six of which offer specialized law programs. In France, legal education encompasses two stages that are general preparation (after which a diploma is received) and specialized training (after which the student becomes a licensed practitioner of law). The program in law school is divided according to the European standards for university education (Bologna process): (i) First program licensed by the law (Licence en droit) requires a period of three years, (ii) a Master of laws program (Maîtrise en droit) needs two years, and (iii) Doctorate in law (Doctor en droit) takes a period of three years (sometimes more). The first year master’s program (M1) is specialized with public law, private law, commercial law, European and international law, etc. The second year of the master of laws (M2) can be a work-oriented or research-oriented (students write a thesis important to and applicable to doctoral programs). The second year is competitive (entry is based on the student’s grades and the overall score and extracurricular activities) and generally more specialized with intellectual property law, contract law, civil liberties, etc. In this article, I explored professional education in French law schools (Faculté de Droit et de Science Politique, Université de Droit, d’Economie et des Sciences d’Aix-Marseille). Readers may obtain some useful information that was unknown to us until now. Hopefully, this piece will trigger discussion on the current and future Korean legal education issues in the field.