INSTITUTION OF JUDICIAL INTERNSHIP AND MENTORING – INTEGRATED EXPERIENCE

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MykhailoVILHUSHYNSKY,

Judge , the High Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases, Doctor of Law Sciences, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine

GalynaYUROVSKA,

Deputy Head of Teachers (Coaches) Training Department of the National School of Judges of Ukraine, Candidate of Law Sciences, Honored Lawyer of Ukraine

 

INSTITUTION OF JUDICIAL INTERNSHIP AND MENTORING – INTEGRATED EXPERIENCE

 

 

The article deals with the further reformation of the judiciary system in the context of provision of courts with highly qualified judges. The authors underlined common problem issues, which concern the necessity to join theoretical knowledge with practical skills of candidates to positions of judges. The authors also proposed the ways of improvement of internship and mentoring processes of candidates to positions of judges with the purpose of their most quality and effective training in the National School of Judges of Ukraine.

Particularly, the authors have analyzed the development of Ukrainian juridical education in all its possible variations, starting from the general one provided by educational establishments that subordinate to the Ministry of Education of Ukraine, and finalizing with the specialized one. Attention was paid to drawbacks of juridical education, as well as reasons causing them, to which, in authors’ opinion, the following may be referred: lack of state standards of lawyers preparation, inactivity of educational establishments in the implementation of new training forms, lack of coordinated position as for basic vectors of the reformation of lawyer preparation.

The opinion was made about the applicability of the noted issue and the necessity of the promptest reformation of the noted sphere, which shall take place in different fields. The authors consider it appropriate to hold the complete reorientation of the contents and purpose of seminar (practical) trainings, aimed at the solution of specially elaborated practical situations maximally approached to the real law-enforcement activity, but not the repetition of theoretical material.

The authors justified the necessity of the implementation of the internship and mentorship institution (coaching) for candidates on post of a judge based on foreign developments in this sphere, particularly, the experience of Germany, which was profoundly and comprehensively processed and coordinated with national realia, which led to the formation of completely unique domestic institution of internship and mentorship that does not copy foreign examples, but is a sample of Ukrainian scale. The article provides the analyzed Provision of internship and mentorship (coaching) of candidates to position of judge and other regulatory acts in this sphere.

It was concluded, that one of the most important results of the implementation of the Provision of internship and mentorship (coaching) of candidates to position of judge is represented by the fact that since now the internship and mentorship obtained systematic, consistent and planned nature. The role of the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine and its territorial departments, appeal courts in ensuring the processes of internship and mentorship was also determined.

Besides, the article highlights general and certain aspects of the activity of candidates to position of judge and mentor-judges (coaches) in this process.

Nevertheless, the authors have determined problem issues, which, in their opinion, require refining and extending in order to raise the effectiveness of the internship of candidates to position of judge in future; in the view of this situation, it was proposed to involve broad audience of all interested participants of this process into the discussion of the noted.

Finally, it was concluded that the ideas of internship and mentorship of candidates to position of judge successfully implemented by the National School of Judges of Ukraine are the scientific achievement and significant contribution into the development the juridical science, as well as, definitely, scientific innovation from the viewpoint of its development and inextricable link with practice.

Key words: provision, programme, individual plan, candidate to position of a judge, mentoring, coach, internship.

 

 

 

 

References

Melnyk R., Shabliy O., Shloer B. Substantial reform of legal education as a basic condition for establishing legal statehood in Ukraine. Law of Ukraine. 2017, No. 10, pp. 56–65.[ukr.]

Melnik R. S. Ukrainian Legal Education as It Is: Problems and Solutions. Scientific Bulletin of Uzhgorod National University. Right series. 2013. Vyp. 21, Part 1, Volume 2. P. 176–180. [ukr.]

White Paper on Reforming Ukrainian Legal Education (Based on the International Scientific Conference on “Europeanization of Ukrainian Legal Education: German-Ukrainian Experience” (Kyiv, November 21 and 22, 2014); Federal Ministry of Education and Science of the Federal Republic of Germany; George University August Göttingen, Faculty of Law; Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Faculty of Law; Center for German Law; German-Ukrainian Law Dialogue / Compilers: Roman Melnyk, Olena Shabliy, Bernard Schloer, Kyiv: Corporation of Taras Shevchenko University of Science Park, Panov, 2015. P. 25. [ukr.]

Statute of the National School of Judges. URL: http://nsj.gov.ua/files/1484914730...2016.pdf. [ukr.]

Provisions on internships and mentoring (coaching) of candidates for judicial office. URL: http://nsj.gov.ua/files/15348358961...8F.pdf. [ukr.]

Referee (trainee) - a so-called (usually between the 1st and 2nd state exams) trainee within the preparatory service as a candidate for the next senior rank. [...] Future lawyers who are traineeships under the preparatory service under §5b of the German Law on Judges are called referees. Since the preparatory service does not occur solely in the courts, but in administrative bodies and other places (lawyers, notaries), in most federal lands (for example, Bavaria) this name sounds like a "reference of law". Referees carry out certain tasks under the supervision of a judge or lawyer. Today, in most federal lands, while attending the preparatory service of a lawyer, the Referee is with the state in public law training; instead of a salary, he receives only a cash payment for the maintenance. An extract from the Creifelds Rechtswörterbuch Legal Dictionary, C.H.Beck, 19. Auflage 2007. S. 951.[engl.]