Towards the death of French law schools?

In this article from the Autumn 2005 issue of Directions Emmanuel Guinchard (Northumbria University) describes developments in legal education in France.

On 7 June 2005 Robert Schuman University of Strasbourg approved an agreement with the Institute of Political Studies of Paris (also known as Sciences-Po Paris), enabling students from the latter to follow only one semester at the university in order to obtain a masters degree in law.

On 15 June 2005 Philippe Simler, a professor at the university, published an open letter criticising both the procedure and the content of the agreement; the procedure because the decision was taken against the near unanimous opinion of the law school, and because it is contrary to all academic custom for a university to impose the structure of a programme.

The content of the agreement is even more interesting. Sciences-Po Paris, as well as several business schools, wishes to deliver masters courses in law, however, only law schools can legally deliver such courses. The solution is to conclude an agreement with a university – precisely the purpose of the agreement that has been concluded.

Will at least the students of Strasbourg benefit? The answer is in the negative; the masters delivered by Sciences-Po Paris adds nothing to the masters they obtain from Robert Schuman University. If they were to obtain the prestigious diploma from Sciences-Po, one might question how even a good student can, in one semester, reach the same level as students who have studied political sciences for five years. The converse applies to the Sciences-Po students who attend the Robert Schuman University.

According to Philippe Simler, however, this is not the main danger, as the students concerned will be few; the main danger is what is going to happen tomorrow.

Sciences-Po has already recruited some distinguished scholars, attracted by the excellent conditions of work at the Institute. When Sciences-Po has recruited all the best scholars, who is going to contest their right to deliver a masters in law? A wide network of former students in public administration will help to change the relevant legislation and the agreement with the University of Strasbourg will in due course no longer be necessary.

After Sciences-Po Paris it will be the turn of the major business schools, then other schools that think they are entitled to the same advantages. The ultimate result will be the best students (selection applies on admission) coming from established families (because of high tuition fees in comparison to university fees) going to those schools and being taught by the best teachers, obtaining the best masters and then the best jobs. Law schools will have what is left and be reduced to poor quality students and teachers.

What are we to make of this situation? First, it brings some good news – it acknowledges the rising attraction of a legal career in France. Second, it removes liability for the foreseeable decline of French law schools from the outside world. But are the law schools exempt from criticism?

It is true that money is a major concern. Sciences-Po Paris and the business schools can attract the best teachers, except those with a strong public service commitment. A comparison with England is difficult since the average workload differs, but the poor salary of academics (compared to their expertise and what they could earn in practice) is a tragedy, making it difficult for a lecturer with a family to live in a big city. The increased competition from Sciences-Po should be conditional upon the introduction of the possibility for law schools to raise tuition fees (currently around £200 per year), or the introduction of state grants.

It is currently impossible for a university to select its students, at least in the first year. This is a taboo that, while proposed several times, has encountered very strong opposition from French students. On the other hand, French law schools suffer from a lack of diversity in its broadest sense. For example, there are not many foreign academics.

In addition, an ‘extreme positivism’ characterises French legal literature, and comparative and interdisciplinary studies are discouraged. Studies in sociology and law or law and economics have little or no success. Increased flexibility is also needed. Many French law schools are able to draw on a long tradition of legal education, but they may not be in the best position to adapt to new opportunities. Imagine, for example, a new course on a European Civil Code or on European Contract Law – many large law schools would refuse even to discuss the introduction of such courses.

There are institutional reasons for this. The model of the academic is the ‘professeur agrégé’, with the name coming from the way academics are recruited (via a national competition called ‘agrégation’). This recruitment process has the advantage of offering the possibility to a young researcher or teacher of becoming a professor at around 30 years of age, and also avoids the local bias that sometimes characterises the recruitment of academics; however in many cases it includes an initial qualifying lecture on the law of obligations (torts and contracts). As the law of obligations in the French curriculum is only compulsory in the second year this leads to discrimination against candidates who have not focused on this subject throughout their study. By contrast, the curriculum followed at Sciences-Po Paris offers a wide range of topics.

French law schools however do have the means to compete with Sciences-Po Paris and the business schools; they have high quality teachers and researchers, surely the most important requirement. But it will not be easy; resolving the financial issues and fighting the temptation of reducing law to the most classical topics are hard tasks. However, it must be understood that if reforms are not implemented, law schools in France may truly die. However hard it may be, it is for law schools to show that this is a mistake.

Even if reforms are implemented, one should always remember the basic question, initially applied to business schools in the USA some 40 years ago – ‘mutatis mutandis, servatis servandis’ – do law schools really teach students to be better lawyers, or merely provide a marketplace in search of those willing to undertake a career in law?

Last Modified: 4 June 2010