The second online course, ‘Introduction to German law and legal terminology’, which is aimed at German-speaking legal practitioners from the Western Balkans and was already launched last year, began at the end of October 2024. The course will conclude with a face-to-face session at the Faculty of Law in Novi Sad, which also initiated the course, in spring 2025.
The online format enables people from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia to participate, even from cities that are logistically difficult to reach. The challenges of the online format are met by using not only classical learning methods such as translation exercises, cloze texts and discussions, but also a wide range of educational and explanatory films on German law. Each course unit concludes with a ‘cultural studies light’ topic that encourages participants to engage with Germany beyond its legal system.
The Director of the Institute of Comparative Law, Prof. Dr. Jelena Ćeranić Perišić (1st from left) and the Deputy Chief of Mission of the German Embassy, Carsten Meyer-Wiefhausen (3rd from left) at the opening of the event. Serbia
On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law, an event jointly organised by the Institute for Comparative Law and IRZ took place in Belgrade on 22 October 2024.
Following the opening, the Serbian Constitutional Court Judge, Prof Dr Vladimir Petrov, and the Judge at the German Federal Constitutional Court, Prof Dr Udo Steiner, presented various aspects of the Basic Law from a Serbian and German perspective.
The speakers highlighted the exemplary function of the German Constitution and German constitutional law and emphasised the important role of the Federal Constitutional Court.
Another focus of the lectures was the question of protecting the Federal Constitutional Court from political influence by means of regulations with constitutional status.
Many of the participants are lawyers working in the field of constitutional law (including some with excellent German language skills), so the lectures were followed by intensive discussions.
Participants from three countries at the Faculty of Law in Novi Sad. Serbia
The final weekend of the ‘Introduction to German Law and German Legal Language’ course funded by the German Federal Foreign Office took place in Novi Sad from 15 to 17 December 2023.
The implementation in the form of a hybrid course with weekly online lessons and an attendance weekend also made it possible for interested parties with sufficient knowledge of German from other cities and countries in the region to participate.
The young lawyers from Bosnia and Herzegovina, North Macedonia and Serbia completed a final certificate test. Among other things, this included a presentation in German – modelled on the file presentation in German state law examinations – the topic of which was only announced shortly beforehand. ‘Arguing (almost) everything with good arguments’ was the motto to stimulate a controversial discussion. This aspect was given particular consideration in the selection of topics. As part of their presentations, the participants argued questions that they could not prepare for with theoretical knowledge. Is the deliberate killing of extraterrestrials a criminal offence? Are clones ‘descendants’ in the sense of inheritance law and if so, from whom? These and similar questions stimulated the discussions in German, and even if the participants were unable to find a unified point of view, they enjoyed the discussions.
Although the participants had a great deal of respect for this exam, they passed it with great eloquence. As a result, they were not only able to take the certificate home with them, but also the self-confidence that they can speak publicly on legal topics in German.
The young lawyers also used the event to get to know each other and to expand their networks with German-speaking colleagues in the region.
