Stamatoudi

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Legal Education in Greece

Irini A. Stamatoudi

Attorney-at-Law (Athens)
LL.M (Leicester)
Doctoral Researcher,
Faculty of Law, University of Leicester

Copyright © 1997 Irini A. Stamatoudi.
First Published in Web Journal of Current Legal Issues in association with Blackstone Press Ltd.

Summary

Although legal education is getting more and more internationalised, still differences remain between the systems of the various countries. Those between civil law and common-law countries such as Greece and England respectively are for example thought to remain significant. This article will describe legal education in Greece. The emphasis will not only be placed on University law studies, but also on the legal professions which are open to students in Greece after graduation from the law school. An evaluation of the whole system will be attempted and comments will be made as to where Greek legal education is heading towards in the near future.

Introduction

There is a presumption in the domain of legal education in Europe that legal education is more or less similar throughout the continent. That presumption is based on the existence of a more or less common European tradition and on the internationalisation of most educational systems and of the ideas of what the mission of a law school in Europe should be (see e.g. Twining 1994, p 52). That is also increasingly so by reason of the exchange of academics and students through normal practice and special European and International education programs such as Erasmus and Socrates, and by reason of the teaching of subjects and materials which are more or less common to most of the countries, either because they encompass common binding legal instruments, e.g. Conventions, Protocols, Treaties and so on, or because they are based on the same rationale of law. In reality we are not too far away from this presumption but we are not very close either.

Although many legal traditions are similar differences in legal education and training systems remain, especially between the two big legal traditions: the common-law and the civil law one. Greece is a civil law country whose legal system is mainly based on Roman law and on the German law paradigms, as well as to a lesser extent on French law. Specifically, the civil, criminal, commercial and procedural law are influenced by the German tradition while the Greek administrative law has been designed on the basis of the French legal model.

The influence of the German law can be better understood if we consider the fact that after Greece had gained its independence from the Ottomans in 1830 the first royal family that was implanted to the Greek monarchic state of that time was German in origin. The German tradition of that time was the one closer to the existing Greek legal tradition, which in fact meant the application of Roman and Byzantine law. The German Pandektenrecht was influenced by Savigny's legal thinking (Aravantinos 1983, pp 184ff.) which was a rather conservative one keeping as far as possible away from the French law of the time which had embraced the radical and revolutionary ideals of 1789. Even before the French Revolution Roman law as such was never implemented in France. Returning to German law, Roman law, or the Corpus Iuris Civilis, was the law which applied in Germany all through the 19th century until the German civil code was introduced on 1 January 1900.

Thus, when the long period of legal and political inactivity in Greece created the ideal circumstances for the easy transplantation of another legal tradition, Germany was the obvious source to turn to, especially since towards the end of the 19th century the influence of the German legal system was already apparent in many neighbouring countries as Italy, Yugoslavia and so on (see also Glendon, Gordon and Osakwe 1985 pp 55ff). The preparations for the drafting of the Greek Civil Code started in 1835. The final draft was approved in 1940, but because of the 2nd World War and the German occupation it only came into force on 23 February 1946 (Doris 1991, pp 202ff).

Returning to our initial categorisation of the present legal systems it is said that the distinction between civil law and common-law countries does not come on its own. It is alleged that two separate models of legal education and professional training come with it. Common-law jurisdictions exercise tight professional control over the access of new members to the legal profession by requiring apprenticeship and a period of vocational training, while civil law jurisdictions exercise state control particularly over the entry of the candidates in the law schools which also constitutes the sole way of access to the legal profession. In contrast to the common-law tradition, civil law tradition also does not pay any particular importance to the vocational training. Therefore studies at University level are essentially theoretical in nature (see Abel, R 1989).

In this context it is obvious that comparing the different traditions in legal education is not just done for the sake of it. By going through the traditions one can observe where each country places its emphasis on education, since such traditions substantially affect the content of the studies, the function of a profession and the approach to law. Moreover, if we take into account that the function of law is not only to mirror the image and the principles of a particular society at a particular period in time but that it also has a formative role in the society, appreciating fully the function of the different educational systems familiarises us with the ideology of the jurists of that particular country. The need for a common legal language is growing as legal transactions outgrow borders. Co-operation between law schools in different countries is almost imposed by the circumstances when the need to be able to study and research at least throughout Europe and the training of people for the international job market become imperatives. These are only some of the elements that point to the importance of exploring other peoples' systems of legal education.

The aim of this article is to offer a description of the current system of legal education in Greece. The analysis is based essentially on the description of legal education at the University of Athens as the most representative example. In general university education is regulated by the law 1268/82, as amended by laws 1404/1983, 1566/1985, 1674/1986, 1894/1990, 1966/1991, 2983/1992, 2188/1994, 2327/1995, 2413/1996. The specific program of studies in the Athens Law Faculty is provided for in the Study Guide of the Law Faculty of the University of Athens (University of Athens 1997). Equivalents to this guide exist also for the two other law faculties in Greece.

We will also look at the opportunities this system creates and at the functioning of legal practice. Conclusions will be drawn concerning the alleged advantages and deficiencies of the current system in the context of other systems of legal education and in the context of the increasing European trend of both maintaining the divergences in the different educational traditions while at the same time closing the gaps that are unnecessary in order for the communication and co-operation of lawyers to become more fertile.

1. Studying Law

In Greece studying "law" is interpreted as studying "Dikaio". The Greek word for law has as its root in the ancient Greek verb "diknimi" which literary means showing somebody the right direction. Other European words for law such as for example the Italian "Diritto", the French "Droit", the German and Dutch "Recht" are the equivalent to this term as they are similarly derived from the Latin "Directum", meaning the right direction.

The first Law Faculty in Greece was established on 3 May 1837, when the first Greek University was inaugurated. The "Othonian University" of that time was the first University in the Balkans and the Eastern Mediterranean in general. Apart from the Law Faculty, it incorporated also three more faculties: Theology, Medicine and Arts and it was housed in the residence of the architect Stamatis Cleanthes on the north-east side of the Acropolis (a brief Historical Review is available on Internet). The "Othonian University" was later renamed the "National and Capodistrian University of Athens". It is the University that currently accommodates the Law Faculty of Athens.

In Greece law is considered to be part of the social sciences sensu lato. Social sciences in the strict sense seek to interpret how the society works, while law tries to indicate how the society should work. Top class higher education in Greece is exclusively undertaken by Universities. Higher education, but not at University level, is also undertaken by State Technic Educational Institutions, known as TEI.

Article 16 of the Greek Constitution allows only for State Universities. Private Universities are prohibited in Greece for the time being. According to article 3 of law 1268/82, Universities are legal entities whose operation is subject to public law. Regarding their administration they are autonomous. The general framework within which they operate has been established by law, while the Universities themselves, eventually with a certain input by students, are responsible for staffing and operational matters. The Minister of Education and Religion (the equivalent of the UK's Secretary of State for Employment and Education) exercises the external supervision on behalf of the State. Financially, the Universities are subsidised by the State apart from the fact that they have their own assets, which can take any form going from money to immovable property, which they exploit.

A. Entering the Law School

The Greek Law Faculties are three. One in Athens in the "National and Capodistrian University of Athens", one in Thessaloniki in the "Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, and one in Komotini in the "Democretian University of Thrace". These Universities accept every year 500 to 550 students each. The contest to enter the Law School is extremely hard. Approximately one only out of seven candidates sits successfully the entering test. By this test the State, through the Ministry of Education, controls and regulates the number of entrants and subsequently the number of legal professionals in Greece.

The examination for entering the Law Faculty is part of a general one for entering all Universities as well as Technic Institutions in Greece and is called "Panellinies". It takes place at the end of the third and final year of the high school when the pupils are on average 18 years old and it comes in four different versions according to the candidates' educational orientation. The Law Faculties belong to one of the four circles of Schools, called "desmes", linked to one version of the exams along with other Faculties and Technical Institutions, such as Archaeology, History, Greek, Foreign Literature and so on. This division of Schools in "desmes" is a theoretical one and has mainly been designed in order to facilitate the system of entering examinations in the various Schools. Because of the fact that these Faculties are thought to be closely related regarding their educational interests, students who want to enter one of them are assessed in the same subjects: composition, history, ancient Greek and Latin. Candidates have the right to select from the circle they have chosen a certain number of Schools (Universities and Technic Schools) in the order of their preference. Afterwards the final results of their test allocates them to a faculty or a technical institution according to the level of the marks they obtained.

The entrance examination is a written one and the exam papers are marked anonymously by two qualified examiners. A system of blind double marking is operated and markers are picked from all over the country. If, however, there is a considerable mark difference in relation to an exam paper a third examiner is called for. The top mark is 20. In order for the candidates to enter the Law Faculty, which has one of the highest entry requirements, they need approximately 18 to 19 out of 20, which is the maximum grade of excellency, depending on which of the three Law Schools they want to enter. Within this margin Athens University has the highest entry requirements, while the one in Komotini has the lower ones.

"Panellinies" carry a considerable educational and social weight since they constitute the only way of being given a place at a University or a TEI in Greece. Cases in which a person will immediately enter the job market after having finished High School are rare. Candidates that do not succeed to enter the University or a TEI either seek to continue their education through private educational institutions or they travel abroad. The number of Greek students studying abroad is high. Britain alone is said to have approx. 12,250 students (BC ECS Int. Student Statistics HE 1994-'95).

B. University Law Degree

Legal education in Greece lasts for four years. Each academic year starts in September and ends in June before the exams of the second semester begin. However, there is no obligation for students to complete their studies within this specific period. In order for someone to graduate and obtain his Law Degree (called "Ptyhio" in Greek) he or she has to be successfully examined in 31 compulsory subjects and in at least 10 elective ones and he or she has to assemble 25 points of the elective subjects before he graduates. The number of points every elective subject has depends on the hours of teaching and its difficulty. The elective subjects can be chosen freely by the student from a list of 54 subjects.

The total number of subjects that have to be taken by students during their studies is at least 41. They cover almost all areas of law, and they are spread over the 8 semesters of the four academic years of studies. The latter are divided into winter and summer semesters. Subjects that are scheduled to be taught in one of the two semesters cannot be transferred to the next one. They can either be re-sat in September or re-done the next year. Subjects do not have to be taken in a certain order. Subjects that are indicated by the University Program as being first or second year subjects can be attended by the students at any other point of their studies as they think appropriate. Yet, the practice is that most of the students, at least in relation to the obligatory subjects, follow the order that is recommended by the University Program of Legal Studies.

The subjects that students are taught during their studies are in particular: Constitutional and Administrative law (public law); Civil law and its subdivisions, i.e. general principles of civil law, contract, property law, tort, family law and hereditary law; Civil Procedure; Commercial law and its subdivisions, i.e. general principles of trade law, companies, cheques and negotiable instruments, Bankruptcy law; Labour law; Criminal law and Criminal Procedure; Private and Public International law; European law; Sociology of law and Methodology of law. In addition to these there is also a list of elective subjects to choose from: e.g. maritime law, air law, tax law, comparative law, insurance law, legal history, Roman law, Byzantine law, medical law, sociology, ancient Greek laws, intellectual property law, environmental law, the law of the church, Cypriot law and so on.

Teaching encompasses essentially lectures. Lectures take place in amphitheatres which have a capacity of about 150 students or more. Because students in each year are as we previously mentioned well above this number, they are usually divided in two or four groups according to the first letter of their family names. Thus, small groups of students, tutorials and personal guidance are rather the exception than the rule in the Greek Law Faculties, especially in the two big ones, the Athens and Thessaloniki Law Schools. Unless seminars or optional subjects take place students usually form large audiences in lecture theatres.

Apart from lectures, seminars also take place but only in relation to certain subjects which are essentially third and fourth year courses. Usually the students that attend seminars in relation to certain subjects (which are usually elective ones) are selected according to the marks they have obtained in this particular area of law, e.g. if it is a seminar on commercial law their marks in commercial law subjects up to this point will be taken into account for their admission to the seminar. Usually a paper of about 10,000 words is presented by each student which is followed by a discussion by the whole team of students and professors that form part of the seminar. The practice in seminars is that more than one professor participates (sometimes up to six) since the issues discussed are very detailed, interesting and the debate taking place is a highly demanding one. In this type of course papers are the only mode of assessment. Usually students do not have to go through any written or oral exams.

Apart from the seminars, attendance is not obligatory regarding the mandatory and optional courses. Success in the examinations is all that is required. However, certain professors expect students to come to their lectures or certain subjects have to be attended by reason of the difficulty of the issues they involve. Otherwise success in the exams is uncertain. In the last year of their studies students in Athens and Thessaloniki make an actual revision of the main subjects they have been taught during their studies by attending, though this is not obligatory, and sitting exams in three subjects: public, civil and commercial law. These subjects are called "Applications of civil, public and criminal law". They are highly demanding ones and they form part of the general program of law studies, as they are a formal prerequisite in order for someone to obtain his Law Degree.

Apart from the regular teaching in the Law Faculty, extra seminars and courses take place. These courses either intend to support students with their actual studies through revision, further clarification of complicated issues or through practical exercises, or they are non-legal discussions, round-table public debates on issues of general interest. Law Faculties in Greece always had a tradition of being places that preserved and stimulated development of social and political ideas and healthy debate. This very character of the Law Faculties in Greece has been preserved. The interests of the new lawyers do not restrict themselves to legal issues only. They cover all the scope of intellectual and public interest. Greek Law Schools apart from their function as strict educational institutions are also cultural and intellectual centres with an important role in the socio-political life of Greece, as can be observed in the students' political groups' annual programs of activities and in the program of activities of the youth organisations.

C. Research Facilities and International links

All Law Schools have their own libraries. Libraries are not necessarily situated in the same building where teaching takes place. And not necessarily books for all areas of law are put together in the same library. However, they are all near to one another and are open every day apart from weekends until late in the afternoon. Law libraries in Greece have a large number of books and periodicals in most areas of law, domestic, foreign and international. The most common ones are English, French, German and Italian. The libraries are not lending ones. Students have either to study the books there or photocopy them in the building. Apart from these libraries there are also Institutes as for example the Institute of International studies and the Institute of International and Foreign law which are important places for research too. Students can of course also use the general libraries found in the cities. Some of them are large and very well stocked. Computer databases providing research facilities for the library books are a recent acquisition.

Apart from libraries there are also reading rooms provided for by the Greek Universities where the students can study. These places are open every day apart from weekends until late at night. Students are provided with the law books they need during their studies. This is part of the State's obligation for free education. There are also no fees for undergraduate and postgraduate studies. In addition sponsorships are available for the students who perform best.

Moreover, Greek Universities are very active in exchange programs for students, both European and International ones. The idea of studying abroad and obtaining comparative knowledge and experience is strongly cultivated in the Greek Universities. To this aim also helps the fact that most of the law teachers have themselves experience of legal undergraduate or postgraduate studies abroad and can appreciate it accordingly. There are also courses of legal terminology in foreign languages as well; mainly in English, French and German.

Although Greek students can easily travel abroad because of their wide knowledge of foreign languages, the same does not apply for foreign students who want to visit Greek Universities and undertake some law subjects there. However, a number of students is received every year. Seminars and lectures in relation to the courses they are to attend are given in English, French and German. For those who wish to stay for full studies free language classes are provided by the University. Greece keeps also its international links through visiting professors on certain occasions or by supporting research abroad. Yet, all these initiatives are more based on a private and individual basis than on an organised general University initiative.

D. Examinations and evaluation

Students are assessed by exams. Exams are usually written exams. However, oral exams also take place as well as research papers either in combination with a written exam or as the only method of assessment. Examinations usually take place at the end of every semester, that is in January-February and in June-July. Students who fail to be successful in certain subjects can resit the exams of both semesters in September of the same year. Participation during the course is not normally taken into account since as we mentioned previously, attendance in the Law School is not obligatory. The pass mark of any examination in the Law School is 5. The top mark is 10. Everything between 5 and 6,4 is good, between 6,5 and 8,4 is very good, and 8,5 and above is an excellent mark.

E. Teaching Staff

The teaching staff in the Law Faculties consists of lecturers and professors. These people are usually persons with high educational qualities, knowledge of foreign languages and flexibility in their areas of research. Because Law Faculties have divisions (known as "tomis") almost analogous to the general divisions of law, e.g. civil law, penal law, etc., professors have to possess at least a general knowledge of the rest of the subjects included in their division.

Apart from their teaching and research obligations they are also allowed to practise law. However, they are not allowed to be legal consultants of either private or public companies unless they are granted a special permission to do so by the Minister of Education. The teaching staff in the Faculty is officially divided into four categories. These are lecturers, assistant professors, associate professors and (full) professors. The scale of promotion varies according to the individual's years of teaching experience and volume and quality of academic research. In order for somebody to enter the University as a member of staff and obtain the first professional scale, that of the lecturer, he has to have a Doctorate, at least two years of educational experience in a Greek or foreign University or alternatively work experience in a research institution in Greece or abroad or a combination of the two. Apart from his Doctorate, he is also required to have completed two original publications in scientific journals that are supposed to contribute significantly to research in his area of research and he should also demonstrate an ability that he is able to teach independently, research and develop scientifically in his academic career (See law 1268/1982, art 14 seq.). This can be derived from his whole record of work.

In order for someone to be promoted from lecturer to assistant professor, or to be elected directly as such, he needs to have 2 years teaching experience in the field of law of the division he wants to become a member of or of which he already is a member after he has obtained his doctorate. Alternatively he can have 2 years of experience in a recognised research institute in his own country or abroad or a combination of teaching and research experience. Additionally he also needs on top of his doctorate to be the author or co-author of some original publications in academic journals.

For the next stage of promotion, that is the one leading to the level of associate professor, the requirements are basically the same and it is only the length of the teaching or research experience that changes from 2 to 4 years. There is however an additional requirement that the candidate must have made a contribution through his work to the development of legal science. Lastly, in order for someone to become full professor the requirements are as follows. One needs to have at least 6 years of research and/or teaching experience, some original publications in academic journals, 3 years teaching experience at Master's level and one's work needs to be recognised internationally as a contribution to the development of legal science. The latter can be demonstrated by referring to the fact that other researchers use one's work and refer to it. If someone is to be promoted at any scale he also needs to have completed most of his research and work at the scale he wants to leave behind. He also needs to possess other qualities. Greek Law mentions things such as the fact that students recognise his teaching as excellent, the fact that he is committed to the principles of democracy and the fact that he has made a social contribution. The personality of the candidate also plays a role.

It are the members of the division to which the candidate belongs or wishes to belong which ultimately decide. They vote and take decisions by majority of votes.

2. Postgraduate Studies

Once someone has graduated from the Law School many career directions are possible. Law graduates can either pursue one of the legal professions, such as lawyers, judges, public prosecutors or notaries. Or they can follow an alternative career, such as that of a diplomat, work in the government, in banks or generally in the private sector. Most people consider that because of the many career opportunities that are given to people that have studied law, law is a well sought after education.

Instead of pursuing a career immediately after the completion of their studies law graduates can also attend postgraduate studies in a Greek University or abroad. The only postgraduate degrees that are available in Greece are the Masters' Degree and the Doctorate.

A. Masters' Degree

A Masters' Degree is available in Greece in most areas of law, but this type of law program is only open to graduates with a law degree. Its duration is one to two years and it is a prerequisite for someone who wants to proceed onto a Doctoral research program afterwards, or who is generally interested in research or in an academic career. No part-time studies are available in Greece and neither is there any distance learning. The education system can in this respect be characterised as a rather traditional one. This can be partly explained by the fact that its function is basically limited to train Greek candidates. Greek Universities do not speed up their studies in order to accommodate the needs of foreign students. Moreover, they always aim at a broader provision of studies in law. There is no need for the Masters' program to be based on commercial considerations in Greece. The applicants in any case exceed substantially the number that can be accepted onto a Masters. Moreover, no commercial thoughts are ever allowed in the designing of an academic program of studies. Of course, to that helps substantially the fact that students do not have to pay any fees and are not able to select from a big range of Universities.

Admission to the Masters program requires certain qualifications including a second class honour degree. Not all Masters have the same requirements, but this is the standard for most of them. Usually about 30 persons are admitted onto each program.

The Masters' Degree in Greece is a taught course and it includes a number of law subjects which are related to the area of law that the candidate has chosen to do his Masters in. They usually cover specialised areas of law or subjects that had not been taught at all or that had not been taught in detail or in much depth during the basic law studies. For example throughout the Civil Law Masters at Athens University 13 subjects are taught, e.g. banking law, medical law, franchising and leasing, intellectual property, international sales and so on. As can be observed the scope of the Masters Degree is rather broad and it covers both domestic and European/International law according each time to the subject that is at issue.

The courses are essentially seminars which take place on a weekly basis and take in total about 4 to 8 hours depending on whether it is the first or the second year of studies. An individual seminar takes anything between one and two hours. The practice is that papers are presented in the seminar and then discussion and debate follow. Lectures might also take place. The examinations in the Masters Degree are a combined system of assessment by research (by writing papers) and by written and oral exams.

B. Doctorate

After the completion of the Masters' Degree and if the required prerequisites, which are set by each faculty, are met the graduate can apply to start a Doctorate in any area of law. The Doctoral thesis is usually supervised by a team of three professors, one of them having been chosen by the candidate. The rule is that there are no limits on the length of the thesis, but it has to be of considerable length and it must contribute to the development of knowledge in the area at issue. This usually represents a monograph of at least 90,000 to 100,000 words. No time limits regarding the completion of the Doctorate exist, but most students require at least three to four years to complete their thesis.

Once the student has completed his thesis he or she is assessed by a team of professors on the topic of the thesis and usually on questions around this area of law. If the candidate obtains a good result for the quality of his research he can then embark on an academic career, if that is what he is interested in. When he obtains the rest of the qualifications that are required he can then apply for a post as a lecturer in the University. However, this process is a very difficult one. Usually a place has first to be vacated or created if the teaching staff of the University thinks that there is such a need and if the State provides the necessary budget. Places might not open or be created for up to five years or more in a row. Once a place opens the competition is considerable since there are only three Law Faculties in Greece. The highest level of competition takes place in Athens which is the most sought-after University for both students and professors. Almost forty per cent of the Greek population lives in the capital and more professional opportunities exist for someone who wants to practise law in parallel to his lectureship. The current number of lecturers and professors at Athens University is 110 according to the Study Guide of the Law Faculty (pp. 13ff).

3. Practising Law

A second orientation and the most common one for law graduates is practising law either as lawyers or notaries, or as judges and public prosecutors. It is very common if not almost the rule for law graduates who do not want to study for a second University degree to apply for the licence of the profession of lawyer. But as we explained practising law as a lawyer is also not banned for those who pursue an academic career. The combination of the two is normal for most academics. However, any other profession apart from the academic one and membership of Parliament is incompatible with the legal professions mentioned above. There are, nevertheless, some more exceptions in relation to what is permitted besides being a lawyer, but these rules are very detailed and they fall outside of the scope of this article (see in this respect articles 26, 62 and 63 of the "Kodika Dikigoron" or lawyer's code, originally introduced by legislative decree 3026/54 in 1954).

A. Judges, Public Prosecutors and Notaries

The only post-qualification specialist legal training is the one regarding judges and public prosecutors. After someone graduates from the Law School and if he intends to become a judge or a public prosecutor he has to undertake one more year of studies in the "National School for Judges" in Thessaloniki. Entrance to the School, which was established in 1994, is by means of a competition. About 630 candidates apply for 60 places each year. 42 of these lead to places in civil and penal courts and 18 lead to places in administrative courts. Once the candidate completes his studies he is allocated to one of the Greek courts where he can pursue a judicial career.

Although being a judge is a very important and highly regarded profession it does not have the prestige of the equivalent English profession. That is because judges in Greece, by reason of the different legal system do not make the law as their counterparts do in a common-law system. They only interpret it. In this respect academics who usually participate in the drafting of Greek Laws hold the first and prestigious role in Greek society along with certain judges of the highest courts (compare Cownie and Bradney 1996, ch 9).

Notaries in Greece are the subject of a numerous clausus, i.e. in order for someone to become a notary a place has to be vacated by an existing notary. The candidate has to be licensed first as a lawyer, practise law for at least two years and then he or she can apply for a place as a notary. Admission tests take place for the post or posts and only persons who sit them successfully enter the profession. Basically the task of a notary in Greece is slightly different from that of the equivalent English profession. The Greek notary undertakes also tasks that under the English system are to be undertaken by a solicitor. He essentially certifies any transactions which according to the Greek law have to be formal, e.g. the sale or purchase of a house, the donation of a building, certain wills, the transfer of assets, etc. by means of official documents that registers them with the State.

B. Lawyers

According to Article 1 of the "Kodika Dikigoron" or Lawyers' Code a Lawyer is an "unpaid civil servant". Of course this article by no means mirrors the Greek reality, apart from emphasising the lawyers' duty towards assisting the court in the administration of justice, since lawyers work in private practice and their work is rather well paid. Because of this reason and of the social prestige this work brings with it the profession of a lawyer (dikigoros) in Greece is a very popular one. In Greece every region has its own Bar and every lawyer is a member of the Bar of his region. In Athens alone about 19,000 lawyers are registered according to the last available registration figures of the Athens Bar (April 1997), almost the same number of lawyers as in the whole of the former West Germany. However, only 15,500 of them are active. The others either switch to another profession, which is usually a post in the public sector or merely stop practising law.

There are various reasons for this phenomenon. As E Skordaki points out "one involves the provision of further and higher education in Greece; another explanation lies with the cultural significance of "permanence of employment" (this can be understood only by reference to the social and political experiences of modern Greece as these are briefly explained in the article on p. 203); yet another explanation lies with the practical difficulties of practising as a lawyer in Greece; a fourth explanation could involve some of the issues that face the English profession too; disillusionment with legal practice and the demands it places on one's life" (Skordaki 1992, p 202).

Lawyers either work by themselves, privately or in a team with other lawyers with whom they either form a company or with whom they just share an office. Until recently companies of lawyers were prohibited in Greece until 1989 (see Presidential Decree 518/4.10.89). That also constitutes the main reason why such companies are rare in Greece. The practice still remains that most of the practitioners work on their own.

Still the statute that provided for partnerships was also designed to protect practitioners that are working on their own. It would not allow the existence of any Bar who would have less than seven sole practitioners. Limitations also exist as to the number of members such partnerships were allowed to have. Bars with only up to 35 members could only have three partners as a maximum number. Accordingly Bars with up to 60 members, five; up to 100, seven; and up to 300, eleven. However, concerning the large Bar chambers with over than 300 members there is only a minimum requirement of members and that is five.

i. Training

No postgraduate training for those intending to practise law exists in the Law Faculties. Bars are the only professional bodies responsible for the teaching of professional legal skills, while the organisation and administration of traineeships are shared between the Greek Ministry of Justice and the Council of Bar Associations. Within six months from the time one has graduated from the Law School, which is the only and indispensable prerequisite in order for someone to become a lawyer, he has to be registered with a Bar in order to do his traineeship.

The traineeship lasts for 18 months and it basically involves assistance in the tasks of a lawyer and presence in the court with the lawyer whenever a lawyer pleads a case. Bars also provide for lectures and seminars. Since it is through practice that one learns most of his skills, the traineeship is usually taking place under "paternalistic" conditions where a mentor is the lawyer to whom one is attached. One is either lucky and attached to a lawyer who pays particular attention to his trainee without letting him do mainly the work of a secretary or one is not. The law attempts to prevent such situations by allowing three only trainees per each lawyer.

Once one is registered with a Bar he has to do his traineeship with a lawyer of this particular Bar. Not all lawyers are allowed to take trainees. The rule is that the lawyer has to have eight years experience of practising law and rights of audience before at least the Court of First Instance. The requirements are higher in relation to the largest Bars of Greece, that of Athens and Piraeus. In order for lawyers of these Bars to take on trainees they have to enjoy rights of audience at least before the Court of Appeal. The fact that one is registered with a particular Bar has further consequences too. Every region has its own Bar. The members of each Bar have rights of audience only before the courts to whose jurisdiction this particular Bar belongs. Thus, the profession of lawyer, though it is not divided according to particular professional tasks, as in the case of the division between solicitors and barristers, is however divided geographically. Only criminal law lawyers can represent their clients in criminal courts all over Greece.

After the 18 months' period of training, trainee lawyers are examined in civil law and civil procedure, in criminal law and criminal procedure and in commercial law both in writing and orally. They may also be assessed on the skills they learned during their traineeship. Usually examinations should not be postponed for more than one examination period. Also examinations for the licence of a lawyer cannot in any case be sat by people having exceeded a certain age, which is in practice somewhere in their early thirties. If any of these two situations occurs usually the candidate loses for good his chance to become a lawyer (see "Kodika Dikigoron"). The Greek reality is that most of the law graduates are qualifying as lawyers even in cases where they do not intend to practise the profession. Most of them do so for reasons of job security and in order not to lose the chance to return to the Bar at a later stage in their careers if they chose to do so.

ii. Lawyering

The English division between solicitors and barristers (see Cownie and Bradney 1996, ch 8) does not exist in Greece. Greek lawyers both draft the papers for the case of their client and represent him in court. During the first years of their practising after they have been licensed, lawyers can only represent their clients before the courts of first instance. Only after some years of practice and a certain number of cases they are allowed to take cases before the higher courts, i.e. the Court of Appeal as a second stage, and in a final stage before the Supreme Court and the Conseil d'Etat (see "Kodika Dikigoron", arts 35ff).

The profession of lawyer is incompatible with other professions apart from certain ones, the most important of which are that of teaching in the University and membership of Parliament. Professors which belong either to the Athens Bar or to the Bar of Piraeus have the right to represent clients before the highest courts in the judicial pyramid, such as the Supreme Court and the Conseil d'état, and before the Court of Appeal. They are not allowed to represent clients before any other Court, while Professors who are not equally members of one of these two Bars can only represent clients before the Court of Appeal to which their Bar belongs.

Lawyers do not take any formal specialisation from either the Law School or the Bar. It is very common for them to undertake any kind of case. Even if they decide to specialise in a certain area of law, that can only occur through practice and private research and they are not accredited for doing so by any formal professional body.

4. Evaluation of the Greek system of legal education

Legal studies in Greece are one of the most sought-after forms of education because of the professional opportunities they offer. However, although the system has succeeded in producing legalists with knowledge of a wide range of subjects, consciously avoiding specialisation at an early stage (even the Masters' Degree is general in scope though being limited to a particular area of law), the system of legal education is held to be an overloaded one (see Study Guide of the Law Faculty of the University of Athens at p. 69). The argument in favour of the system might be that Greek law graduates have succeeded to be amongst the most well educated law graduates in Europe with a considerable flexibility in the various areas of law. Yet, that undoubtedly costs them a great amount of labour and strength even in relation to the studying of subjects which are not considered to be of first priority in terms of general education. Maybe the fact that Greek lawyers practise law in literally all possible areas of law has imposed the duty on the drafters of the Law School Study Program to provide students with a background to as many subjects as possible.

Yet, my view is that a certain number of subjects has to be cut and the hours left can be used for a more in depth analysis of the subjects that will be left. Overloading of programs is said to be the plunder of the recent developments in education. They unjustifiably stress students and tend to favour a more superficial analysis of the subjects involved not by reason of the method of teaching but mostly because of the short periods available for their assessment. When a student has to be assessed on six or seven subjects in the same examination period, all of them demanding a considerable bulk of work he has inevitably to prioritise certain subjects or only parts of them. That means that certain others are given only a minimum of attention. The fact that this situation is problematic is also stressed by the small number of students in the Greek law faculties that succeeds to finish on time and this has both financial and psychological repercussions for the students concerned.

Moreover, Greece seems to follow the civil law model of Universities. Studies in the law faculties are essentially theoretical in nature. The mentality of this system is that it rather produces people who can understand and interpret the law than prepare lawyers for the job market. The University's only purpose is academic and it places the emphasis on substantive law. The students are basically taught how to focus on the law that is essential for their cases. They know how to isolate the facts that are of importance and how to test the facts in relation to the law. This is what we call the exercise of the "Supreme and Lower Sentence" in which the Supreme Sentence is the law and the facts are the Lower one. Practical skills are thought to be easy enough to learn during someone's traineeship.

However, if we take into account that most of the law graduates are orientated towards the legal profession, even though a considerable number of them is not going to practise it, University studies should also encompass a certain amount of legal skills. The tracing of facts, the teaching of the essentials of a debate and pleading, the professional consciousness and ethos, the ability to communicate with clients in a "human language" rather than in legal jargon, the ability to be able to prove what you know and what makes sense, are all tasks that are inextricably linked to lawyering. One is highly unlikely to learn these skills in practice in the first years of one's professional career. Moreover, they are skills that contribute to the functioning of the legal profession in a socio-political context. Our role in law and justice is part of our role in society, and apart from interpreting the law we equally have a responsibility to change it through criticism and discussion. Black-letter interpretation of the law does not suffice. In this light learning practical skills is not just about how competitive you are on the market. It is also about how functional and effective one is in his role in society.

Conclusion

How a Law School works usually gives the answer to the question which aim it pursues. Is it to meet the needs of the market of the profession it is linked to or is it the offering of pure academic knowledge which basically disregards the practical needs of the legal professions? It is not our intention to solve this dilemma, first because we lack expert knowledge of legal theory and education and secondly because we are convinced that there are situations in which elements of both these seemingly irreconcilable directions are combined successfully. However, we are in a position to make certain observations. And that is that Law Schools uncontestedly primarily have an academic goal. That does not exclude though the fact that aspects of the professional skills-orientated training have to be taken into account too in order to link the theory to the professional reality of legal practice.

Legal education in Greece, though mainly academic in nature, is not however fully isolated from practical reality, since no sterilised education can survive, at least not successfully. In Greek law schools one also finds elements of social theory, from the realistic school and from what is known in England as clinical education. Yet, these elements have not been developed sufficiently to change the general character of the Greek Law School that stresses the need for a broad theoretical legal, and apart from tiny exceptions, only legal education. Needless also to add that in Greece the combination at undergraduate level of law with any other subject is not known.

The paradox that is created at this point is that although the Greek Law Graduates are fully orientated towards the main legal professions, much more so than in most Law Schools in England for example, Greek law schools still do not include in their aims the smooth transition of graduates from the academic education and training stage literature to that of legal practice. Common-law Law Schools have taken into account the fact that only a small number of students ends up practising law and they make efforts to adjust their program of studies to facilitate a smooth transition to all forms of professional careers currently pursued by law graduates.

Although a new study program has been introduced in the Athens Law Faculty which seems to places more importance on an education which is also orientated to the needs and requirements of practice by introducing subjects which are applications of legal theory to practical situations, by increasing the number of seminars and by organising mock trials, still there is not much hope in my view that the main Greek legal education mentality will change fundamentally in the near future. On the contrary it seems to me that we are heading away from any form of specialisation.

This is corroborated by the design for a new Law School which has been made, but not been implemented yet. The project is going to be put into practice in "Panteios", the Greek University for sociological and political sciences. It is intended to be an even more general course, entirely separated from legal practice. It will combine the aforementioned subjects and law, mostly European and International law. Probably it will not lead to a degree which will allow graduates to practise law.

Our primary observation in the introduction that legal education in Europe is similar seems to collapse in the light of the reality emerging from this article. Some would argue that divergences in legal education in Europe should be eliminated if we want to meet the need of fertile communication between lawyers and the other legal professions, if we want a unified legal education, helping the mutual recognition of Degrees and professions, and which will be able to facilitate the mobility of students, academics and practitioners at least in the Common Market. According to Article 126 Paragraph 2 of the EC Treaty we should aim to develop the European dimension in Education. But which of all the dimensions will qualify as European? All the existing theories in law have their merits and their justifications.

Article 126 Paragraph 1 along with Article 128 Paragraph 1 clarifies the situation. Diversities in culture, educational or not, have to be preserved. In fact they are desirable. No sense would exist otherwise for travelling abroad and get to know other peoples' law and systems. Especially when these laws and educational systems are indicative of long standing cultures and traditions and offer different approaches to law and legal thinking.

My final observation will be a practical one, a judgement derived rather from the final results than from the starting points of the theory. The fact that the continental bankruptcy law equals the English Insolvency law does not change substantially the situation for someone that goes bust. The fact that a specific type of will is drafted in Greece by a notary while in England by a solicitor, does not really change the final outcome of the will. My point is that although we have different routes we do not necessarily have separate or divergent ones. Both routes are on most occasions leading to the same outcome.

However, the legitimacy of this article is that it is worth saying where actually we are different, since enriching knowledge about each other's systems might enhance each of these systems individually and it might help the emergence of lawyers who will be able to understand each other and to co-operate while at the same time being able to preserve their own legal tradition.

Bibliography

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Twining, W (1994) 'What are law schools for?' in Blackstone's Tower, (London: Stevens & Sons/ Sweet & Maxwell) p 49.

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United Kingdom Journals