SUMMARY OF “SCIENCE FOR SOCIETY II” PROGRAMME

On December 10, a nationwide academic conference was held in the Senate Hall of Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa. The event formed part of the project entitled “Legal Education as an Instrument for Raising Public Legal Awareness”, implemented under the Ministry of Science and Higher Education’s programme “Science for Society II”. The grant is led by prof. Bogusław Przywora, Acting Rector of JDU and Vice-Rector for Research.

The conference provided an opportunity to summarise nearly two years of project implementation, aimed at presenting the issue of legal education as a tool of free legal assistance in order to raise legal awareness in society. The event brought together both academics and practitioners, including judges, advocates, legal advisers, mediators, local government officials and police officers. The participants included scholars from various academic centres, in particular: the Jagiellonian University, Jan Dlugosz University in Czestochowa, Cardinal Stefan Wyszyński University in Warsaw, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, the University of Warsaw, and the University of Silesia. Representatives of government administration also took part in the conference, including dr Karolina Zioło-Pużuk, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Science and Higher Education, and Henryk Kiepura, Secretary of State at the Ministry of National Education.

The research conducted so far has resulted in expert reports containing de lege lata and de lege ferenda conclusions relating to legal education in various areas of law. The presented recommendations have been compiled in a monograph and may be used in shaping the state’s educational policy. Another outcome of the grant is the development of a comprehensive textbook on legal education.

The project is co-funded by the state budget, awarded by the Minister of Education and Science under the “Science for Society II” Programme.