Introduction

Introduction

Welcome to the website of the Faculty of Law of Charles University in Prague. In this section you can find all the necessary basic information about our academic institution.

Master´s programme of study - taught exclusively in the Czech language 

The Law and Legal Science programme of study, field of study law, is a five-year, long-cycle master´s programme of study which is designed as full-time study only and has been taught in the Czech language. The long-cycle master´s programme means that a graduate from a secondary school (high school) may apply directly for this master´s programme which is not conditioned by the completion of any preceding bachelor´s programme.

The academic objective is to offer a comprehensive general legal education which graduates will acquire through the study of all fundamental branches of law, including theoretical and historical background. 

Graduates from the law school will have acquired both theoretical and practical grounding in all fundamental branches of Czech law in the context of European law and international comparison, as well as in the wider context of social sciences. The graduates find employment both in traditional legal professions as judges, prosecutors, attorneys-at-law, or notaries, as well as in a wide range of other fields of public or private sphere. They often hold important social, political or academic positions. They find employment not only within the Czech Republic but also at the European level, for example in the EU institutions. 

The aim of the law school is that its graduates not only demonstrate adequate knowledge and skill in their professional lives, but that they also disseminate and promote the intellectual values on which law is based, such as freedom, equality, legal certainty, and justice.

The degree of Mgr. (Magistr) awarded by the Law Faculty upon successful completion of the ‘Law and Legal Science’ programme of study is a basic qualifying requirement for entering traditional legal professions of a judge, prosecutor, attorney-at-law, notary, insolvency administrator and mediator.

The programme is divided into semesters and years. The curriculum involves three major classes of courses: mandatory, elective and optional courses. There are 20 mandatory courses in the curriculum. Eight of them are finished with a State Examination

In order to successfully complete studies, it is necessary that all the following conditions be satisfied:

  • obtaining a total of 300 credits (under ECTS) at the minimum;
  • successfully completing all mandatory courses (whereby 228 credits are obtained);
  • successfully completing subjects in one of the sub-classes of language elective courses (whereby 9 credits are obtained);
  • successfully completing one subject from the group of elective diploma seminars (whereby 6 credits are obtained);
  • obtaining at least 27 credits for the completion of subjects from the group of general elective courses; and
  • passing all four parts of the final state examination.

By successfully completing mandatory and elective coursesthe minimum of 270 credits is obtained. Remaining 30 credits can be obtained for the successful completion of any courses offered by the Law Faculty.

Within their study, students also focus on foreign languages, particularly on legal terminology, and on the mastering of modern technologies. In addition to the acquisition of theoretical foundations of individual legal branches, increasingly more emphasis is put on the use of teaching methods based on case analysis, practical application of the acquired theoretical knowledge, and on the co-operation with law firms.