Юридична клінічна діяльність: правовий та рольовий аспект

Abstract

The article considers the issues of legal regulation and improvement of the system of legal clinical activity. The authors analyze the regulatory and legal framework for legal clinics. It is established that the purpose of legal clinics is, on the one hand, to ensure that law students acquire the necessary skills to provide legal advice and, on the other hand, to meet the public demand for access to legal aid. The authors focus on the problematic and role aspects of legal clinics and substantiate the expediency of their operation under martial law in Ukraine. The authors’ point of view on clarifying the content of the essential characteristics of the conceptual category “legal clinical education” is presented, and the expediency of its adaptation in the system of primary and secondary free legal aid provision by student clinicians is substantiated. The authors propose introducing legal practitioners who may be included in the list of lecturers-supervisors who ensure the provision of free legal services by student clinicians at the appropriate level into the system of management of legal clinical activities. The author’s vision of the content of the functional responsibilities of practitioners who will be part of legal clinics and will contribute to improving the qualification level of student clinicians is presented. Proposals are made to improve the system of legal clinical activities and the procedure for providing free legal aid by student clinicians. During the study, the authors used the method of systematic analysis and synthesis, systemic and structural, and comparative legal and formal logical methods, which allowed them to analyze the relevant legislation to propose a clarification of the content of the conceptual category “legal clinical education”, and to determine the content of the functional responsibilities of persons involved in the activities of a legal clinic. Keywords: legal clinic; legal clinical activity; law student; student clinician; legal clinical education; legal advice; legal clinic client; free legal service.