Lawmakers Gather to Discuss National Affairs - Thuringia implements undergraduate legal studies
The Thuringian parliament has approved a new law that introduces a Bachelor's degree in legal education. This move will ensure that aspiring lawyers who fail the first state exam won't be left without a degree. According to the legal policy spokesperson of the Thuringian CDU faction, Stefan Schard, there are often circumstances that prevent people from passing the first state exam. The new degree will act as a safety net for these individuals.
Currently, students studying law must pass a difficult first state exam before they can graduate. Unfortunately, many students fail at this stage, and only have one opportunity to retake the exam. If they fail this second attempt, they will leave university without a degree. In Thuringia, the only place that offers a traditional law degree is at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena.
Schard believes that those who do not pass the first state examination have gained a significant amount of legal knowledge and have devoted years to the subject. It would be a waste of these resources to simply discard them if they fail the exam, he argues. At a time when there is a shortage of skilled workers, it's crucial to train qualified legal personnel.
Intense Study
Schard described the law degree as a "very intense study" and said that they want to make it more appealing in Jena. Despite this, judges and prosecutors can still only be appointed with both the first and second state examinations.
Dorothea Marx, an SPD deputy, suggested that it's up to the universities to determine the exact structure of the Bachelor's thesis, as well as how previous achievements should be assessed. She believes this would be a fair compromise between the different factions.
