Reforma szkolnictwa wyższego. Kształcenie prawników w Polsce na tle doświadczeń innych państw europejskich

The authors analyze selected aspects of the higher education reform from the perspective of legal education. Dissimilar opinions concerning the aims of this reform expressed by the interested parties serve as the starting point for the discussion. These dissimilarities are most strongly evident with regard to the views on the role and nature of legal studies. The above, according to the authors, justifies taking a closer look at the intentions behind the higher education reform, involving also legal education, from the perspective of observations of fundamental significance. These observations concern the condition of legal education in Poland, views on the nature of legal studies, hidden, but in fact significant purposes of the reform, and finally, debates concerning the higher education reform in the European Union. According to the authors, in Poland legal education is not discussed in scientific terms. The authors suggest that the issue of the nature of legal studies should be considered in the context of recognizing these studies, along with their subjective and objective structure, as organized communicative space that functions between theoretical and practical aspects of law, includ ing social ones. From this perspective, the authors reveal the sources of social recognition for individuals performing various legal professions (comprehensive knowledge concerning social relations and mechanisms of social interactions) and academic teachers (public activity). The authors present models of legal education in selected European Union countries that reform their education systems. They also outline the idea of differentiation, a key concept for these reforms. They criticize the manner in which this idea is present in Polish legal regulations.