dc.description.abstract | Abstract
To successfully trained an excellent legal professional depends on the quality of
legal education and long-term training and cultivation during professional career.
Taiwan is currently facing the problem of the disconnection between legal
professionals and society. How can teachers and students of law schools respond to
the society′s expectations of legal education, so that the legal system can effectively
solve social justice issues? At present, Taiwan society is dissatisfied with the lawyers
or judicial officers at large so people demand law education reform.
This study uses the perspectives of teachers and students of the law department
to examine the current situation of legal education in Taiwan regarding its legal
education system, textbook contents, national examinations, and the ability to relate
legal education with other professional fields. It also refers to the United States,
Germany, and Japan’s legal education system to propose reform methods for Taiwan’s
legal education.
This research uses the method of survey questionnaires distributed to the
teachers and students of the law departments to conduct quantitative analysis, and
provided suggestions on the reform of current legal education in Taiwan. In
conclusions, the findings of this study are in the following:
In terms of teaching, this study found that the proportion of case-based teaching
methods accounted for mostly 60% of the courses in law departments, and this type of
course facilitate the application of the knowledge of law to actual cases.
Regarding the teaching materials, this study found that most people agree the
professors in law school should further redesign the course materials or improve the
teaching methods. The reforms of legal education have already been carried out to
make up the gap between the theory and practice of legal education. However, schools
should offer ethics courses on lawyers or judges. In addition, with regard to the
program reform of the legal education system, this study found out that the legal
departments in Taiwan should be divided into two tracks: the theoretical-oriented
program and the practical-oriented program in the university.
Regarding examinations, legal education is affected by national judical
examinations, students tend to abandoned courses which are not included in national
judical examinations. The subjects of national legal examinations should be defined
by fields, and legal dictionary allowed be uesd during the exam. The selection of
judges should be replaced by senior and excellent lawyers to avoid judges’ lack of
social experience and the result of judgments that do not meet the expectations of the
public.
Regarding legal position appointments, the national judicial examination should
be divided into four stages after passing the written test, in order to increase diverse
and solid experiences of the candidates. Regarding on-the-job training, judges should
follow other professions, such as teachers and accountants, require further training
and renewal of licenses.
Keywords: Legal education, national examination reform, judicial reform, judicial
appointment, integration of law and other professional fields. | en_US |