Law School System Ready for Introduction

The Judiciary Reform Committee, subcommittee of the Supreme Court, announced yesterday that it would make a final decision over the introduction of law school system, a professional graduate school system of law, at its 21st general meeting, which is scheduled to open on October 4.

According to the committee, out of 20 committee members, 16 showed their approval and, thus, the introduction of the law school system is almost confirmed.

However, in regard to the number of students the system is allowed to enroll, the legal and educational circles met with a strong confrontation because the former argued that considering the number of lawyers the society needs now, 1,200 would be the proper level, but the latter voted for an increase in the number from 2,000 to 2,500.

Sources from the committee said, “In the event that we cannot reach a compromise on the number of students at the meeting on October 4, the chief justice of the Supreme Court, after taking into account the positions of both sides, will send recommendations to them for cooperation,” adding, “Given the big gap between the two parties, this problem is likely to be settled in the next committee meeting with the participation of the Ministry of Education and other organizations.”

Responding to this problem, the Korean Bar Association submitted its written opinion to the committees, saying, “Considering the demand for lawyers, we should restrict the number of students to 1,200.”

Meanwhile, the first division committee of the Judiciary Reform Committee was in agreement that it is desirable to introduce an American-style judiciary advisory service under which government organizations receive advice from legal experts when introducing bills and planning new policies, because they are expected to help establish a strong constitutional system of administration.

Once the system is introduced, experienced lawyers will take over in the legal advisory role, which is currently performed by general government officials, investigate the legal adequacy of policies and legislative bills, and give some legal advice to officials.

The committee, after finishing up deliberations over the issue of the introduction of the new law school system, plans to examine the jury system and another new legal system in which judges rule trials with the cooperation of common people selected by either elections or drawings. From November, in addition to this, the committee will discuss matters regarding changes in the Supreme Court’s function and structure, including an increase in the number of judges and appointing normal judges to the Supreme Court.

jin0619@donga.com