Identification information about the project:

English name	Lifelong Learning in Law
Shortened name	Law4Life
Main manager	JUDr. Veronika Tomoszková, Ph.D.
Length of the project	10/2010-10/2012 (2 years)
Budget of the project	10.945.948,84,- CZK
Partners	ELSA Olomouc, Pro Bono Aliance, Liga lidských práv (Human Rights League), Ekologický právní servis (Environmental Law Service)

Project called “Lifelong Learning in Law” (reg. no. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/15.0290), abbreviated as Law4Life, follows previous experience of Law Faculty of Palacky University in Olomouc (hereinafter “LF PU”) with practical education and its goal is to develop and further increase the quality of education at LF PU, enriching it with development of skills and values in legal education. Project Law4Life is focused on implementation of systematic development of key competencies which enable the LF PU students to effectively use their knowledge, general and professional skills, values and practical experience gained in the course of their studies in their further professional and personal growth. Innovation towards development of key competencies will be realized through modernization of didactical methods in skills-oriented subjects and legal clinics, and furthermore, through widening the offer of legal clinic subjects and other optional subjects (e.g. professional ethics, law for every day – street law etc.).

Main goal of this project is the innovation of Master’s study program “Law and legal science” and Bachelor’s study program “Legal specialization – Law in Public Administration” based on integration of key competencies development into the teaching of practical courses and legal clinics. This innovation will allow the knowledge, skills, values and practical experience gained during the studies to be effectively used and further developed in the studies and practice.

Main key competencies which should be developed on the basis of this project in Legal Skills Course and legal clinics are: effective learning including learning from experience, organization of time and work, problem-solving, conflict-management, communication in Czech language (written and oral form), persuasive presentation, work with information (search, collection and elaboration), team co-operation, flexibility and creativity, activity and initiativity, self-reflection, skill to provide and receive feedback. Enumeration of these key competencies corresponds with the Recommendation of a European Parliament and Council no. 2006/962/EC on key competencies for life-long learning.

Innovation towards the development of key competencies will be realized through modernization of didactical method in the Legal Skills Course and in legal clinics, and furthermore, by widening the offer of legal clinics courses and other optional courses (Professional Ethics, Street Law and optional courses from the area of Environmental Law). In the Bachelor’s studies program “Law in Public Administration”, new course called Professional Skills Course will be open and its syllabus will be adapted to the needs of students-graduates of this study program and add to that, there will be three more clinics: Administrative Law clinic, Environmental Law clinic and Construction Law clinic.

Target groups of the project are students of the Master’s study program and two Bachelor’s study programs and academics of LF PU.

The project has 4 partners in total – they are ELSA Olomouc, Pro Bono Alliance, Liga lidských práv (League of Human Rights) and Ekologický právní servis (Environmental Law Service). ELSA Olomouc is a partner without financial contribution, other partners receive a financial contribution.

Project “Lifelong Learning in Law” is a follow-up project to the project of HRD OP “Development of practical forms of teaching at LF PU” (reg. no. CZ.04.1.03/3.2.15.2/0273), which was implemented by LF PU from 2006 to 2008 and which was financed from the sources of European Social Fund and state budget of the Czech Republic. Project followed the tradition of practically oriented courses, especially legal clinics – at LF PU, there was a first Central European legal clinic established in 1996 with support of Ford Foundation. Within the framework of a project “Development of practical forms of teaching at LF PU“, we laid foundations of systematic education of LF PU students in the area of professional skills in an obligatorily optional two-semester long subject called Legal Skills Course and six optional courses of legal clinics. Teaching of these courses is guaranteed by Center for clinical legal education which was founded thanks to the project.

Project “Lifelong Learning in Law” is also connected to two more ECOP projects currently implemented at LF PU. They are called “Complex innovation of expert language education and increase of language and expert competencies for practice (reg. no. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/15.0262 ) and “Support of foreign language tuition of law at the Law faculty of Palacky University in Olomouc” (reg. no. CZ.1.07/2.2.00/15.0288). Both of these projects supplement activities of the project “Lifelong Learning in Law” with development of a key competence of communication in foreign language.  The goal of the project “Lifelong Learning in Law” in relation to these projects is to create quality foundations of other key competencies (in a Czech language) which allow the target group of students to effectively engage in development of key competencies in foreign languages.

Key activities are:

1.         „Law for every day” (Street law) Program – internal guarantor JUDr. Lucia Madleňáková

2.         „Moot court” Program – internal guarantor JUDr. Maxim Tomoszek

3.         Professional Ethics – internal guarantor JUDr. Maxim Tomoszek

4.         Patient’s Rights Clinic – internal guarantor JUDr. MaximTomoszek

5.         Anti-discrimination Clinic – internal guarantor Mgr. Melotíková

6.         Environmental Law Education (ELED) – internal guarantor Mgr. Peterková

7.         Student Human Rights Laboratory – internal guarantor Mgr. Ondrej Hamuľák

8.         Consumer Law Legal Aid Office – internal guarantor JUDr. Blanka Vítová, Ph.D., LL.M.

9.         Construction Law Clinic – internal guarantor JUDr. Ing. Filip Dienstbier, Ph.D.

10.       Social Security Clinic – internal guarantor JUDr. Gabriela Halířová, Ph.D.

11.       Integration of key competencies into the teaching of law (modernization of didactical methods)

12.       Methodology of teaching law