72 Oregon Law Review 957

Winter, 1993

Symposium: Winds of Change--A Global Look at Legal Education

LEGAL EDUCATION IN HUNGARY

Francis A. Gabor

Hungary=s legal system is modeled on Germany's. Therefore, its legal education system has been heavily influenced by the German tradition, including Germany's teaching methods and its approach to law as a science. During the Communist takeover, the germanic influence was blended with a Soviet influence as many aspects of Soviet legal education were forced on Hungarian universities. However, with the collapse of communism and the subsequent democratic transformation, the Soviet influence has waned. Today, Hungary's legal system is based on the civil law tradition with its emphasis on codification, organization, and abstract scientific thinking.

In Hungary, law has always been taught as an undergraduate nonprofessional discipline, just as it is taught in other continental civil law countries. In the typical high school, students study a gymnasium or core of subjects comparable to that studied in a four-year liberal arts curriculum in the United States. High school requires four years and is followed by a demanding final examination or matura required for admission to college law study.

In recent years, Hungarian legal education has undergone considerable changes. In the 1950s, following the Communist takeover, many believed that the legal system, as well as lawyers, judges, and legal professionals, would eventually become superfluous. Since the state and the law were regarded as a service for the ruling class, it was assumed that both would wither away as class distinctions disappeared. Because of these attitudes, few students applied to law school in the 1950s.

In the 1960s, this situation began to change as Hungary became the first Central Eastern European country to introduce economic reform. These reforms triggered a demand for competent lawyers. As a result, state-owned companies began to develop in-house legal departments, and private lawyers began to establish legal cooperatives. Through these cooperatives, lawyers were able to function in traditional ways. Gradually, lawyers began to achieve more respect, and their income began to exceed that of most other professionals. As this occurred, more and more students began applying to law schools for admission. By the mid-1960s, there were three to five applicants for every available space.

Today, in order to gain admission to law school, applicants must take a rigorous admission exam which consists of written essays and oral questioning. The oral examination is given before a committee composed of faculty members and student body representatives. The written examination includes standardized numerical scoring designed to make the admission procedure more objective.

The exam covers Hungarian language, literature, and history. Particular emphasis is placed on the applicants' communication skills and ability to recall relevant information. The oral portion of the exam involves questions about the applicants' career plans and seeks to determine intellectual abilities.

Given the close similarities between Hungary's legal system and Germany's, it is understandable that Hungarian law teachers use teaching methods quite similar to those used in Germany. The typical class is taught by the lecture method. The lecturers are usually full or associate professors who have some prestige and recognition in their subject areas, and who jealously guard the privilege of lecturing in their field. The professors divide the subject areas among themselves.

Hungarian lectures are intended to provide students with a general exposition of scholarly doctrine, and to help students understand how to approach particular subject areas. Lectures are well organized, delivered to large audiences, and are scientific and abstract teachings on the major codes, as well as on other relevant subject areas. Often, lectures will be delivered to an entire first-year or second-year class of students, and there is no interaction whatsoever between professors and students. The students are treated as passive listeners who try to gain an understanding of legal institutions and doctrines. Class attendance in these classes is generally not required, and only a fraction of the enrolled students attend.

Lectures are supplemented with tutorials. Each class (I, II, III, IV year) is divided into tutorial groups of ten to twenty students. The tutorials are conducted by associate or assistant professors or by teaching assistants, and meet at regularly scheduled times of the week. The tutorials are based on specific assignments handed out in advance.

The quality of tutorials can vary depending on the qualification and the devotion of the instructor. At their best, tutorials provide an ideal supplement to the lectures, and help bridge the gap between the methods used in common law environments. Often, tutorials involve students in debate about the validity and wisdom of judicial decisions. It is quite common that students are able to debate certain judicial decisions and lecture subjects after having the opportunity to study and prepare their assignments. Students generally receive a grade based on their participation and performance in the seminars.

The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Education establish the curriculum. Required courses are numerous; however, students can also take a selected number of electives offered by each department in the law faculty. Generally, most of the special seminars or colloquia are taught by practicing lawyers and high-ranking government legal experts. These instructors provide insight on such exciting topics as current developments in the European Economic Community or on the revision of the Civil or Criminal Code. Again, depending on the qualification and the preparation of the instructors, students can assume a more active role in these special seminars. They can also make presentations allowing them to formulate their views and initiate independent discussions on selected topics. Generally, the students receive a pass or fail grade on most of these special seminars.

Examinations reflect the general approach to legal education. Most of the exams are oral. Students select the time for meeting the designated professor or instructor. The student simply has to select a topic, and after a short period of preparation, has to give an oral presentation to the instructor. This can be followed up by several questions and discussions. The nature of the examination clearly reflects the tone of legal instruction, which is the memorization of information. For instance, in the criminal law exam, students are required to memorize sections of the criminal code verbatim.

In order to complete their educational requirements and receive the Doctor of State and Legal Sciences degree, students have to complete a research project or dissertation on a topic selected by them and approved by a faculty advisor. Each department has standard topics or may recommend certain topics which can be selected by students. A dissertation should be a well researched, clearly presented analysis of certain legal institutions, doctrines, or developments in the legal system. Students are required to present and defend their dissertations in front of a committee consisting of faculty members who have expertise in the subject area.

Overall, the method of legal education in Hungary emphasizes the scholarly presentation of the legal system. The well-organized theoretical introduction of the major code subjects is accompanied by a wide variety of courses covering the legal science from the historical, sociological, and other related perspectives. Thus, students have to take courses in political economy, sociology, philosophy, and related subject areas.

To gain a practical understanding of the operation of the Hungarian legal system, students are required to enroll in an apprenticeship period. Students may select apprenticeship periods with local prosecutors' offices, courts, administrative agencies, or in the legal department of commercial companies.

Upon completion of their course work, students spend six months in an extended apprenticeship with selected or assigned judicial and administrative agencies or law firms. This enables students to develop further their practical skills and understanding of a particular branch of the legal profession. Upon completing this six-month apprenticeship, students have to defend their dissertation and begin preparation for the comprehensive final state examination. This examination covers all of the major code subjects as well as jurisprudence and constitutional law. Representatives of the Ministry of Justice and professors form the evaluation committee. Students have to give a full account of their four year study and demonstrate understanding of the relevant subjects before this committee. To satisfy the requirements for receiving the Doctor of State and Legal Sciences degree, students must successfully complete the four year program, defend their dissertations, and pass the comprehensive state examination.

At this point, the seemingly prepared young lawyer enters into his or her designated field of practice. However, there is yet another apprenticeship period. During this period, the young lawyer practices law under the direct supervision of a licensed attorney. This apprenticeship period is fully compensated. Young lawyers must decide whether they want to pursue their career at the bench of the judiciary, the prosecutor offices, or in the more lucrative field of private practice. Recently, this last area of practice went through new comprehensive regulations. Since 1992, young lawyers can pursue their apprenticeship in law offices of private attorneys or in the legal departments of companies. They can then take a uniform final examination. In general, the required period is two to three years before taking the comprehensive and more practice-oriented bar examination.

A comparative assessment of the legal teaching methods in Hungarian and American Universities leads to the following conclusions: first, a minimum of seven years is required to become a full-fledged lawyer in both the Hungarian and the American legal systems; second, based on the civil law tradition, an organized scholarly presentation of the major code subjects and related curriculum forms the core of Hungarian legal education; third, analysis of judicial decisions plays a subordinate role in the Hungarian legal education and is utilized primarily for tutorial class discussions following general lectures on a given subject; fourth, the core of the Hungarian legal training is undergraduate nonprofessional education with little emphasis on developing practical legal skills such as legal writing, advocacy or trial practice; fifth, in Hungary, important lawyering skills are acquired partially from tutorials and further enhanced through participation in several required apprenticeship periods; sixth, in Hungary, the final comprehensive bar examination can be taken after a minimum of two years of learning and practice. This extended period exposes Hungarian bar applicants to basic subject areas and skills that are required on the typical American bar examination; and last, in recent years, institutions for continuing legal education were established. Continuing legal education has become a general requirement for practicing law in Hungary.