FACULTY OF LAW

The University of Zenica was founded by the Decision of the Assembly of Zenica-Doboj Canton on October 18th 2000.  Four years later, on April 22nd 2004, the Senate of the University of Zenica initiated activities for the establishment of the Faculty of Law in Zenica. A teamwas appointment, in accordance with the provisions of Articles 9, 10 and 11 of the Law on Higher Education of the Zenica-Doboj Canton (“Official Gazette of the Zenica-Doboj Canton” No. 15/99), tasked with preparing an Elaborate on the justification of the establising of the Faculty of Law in Zenica. Upon successful completion of the preparatory work, on September 13th 2005 Faculty of Law in Zenica was founded as one of the eight faculties belonging to the University of Zenica by the Decision of the Assembly of Zenica-Doboj Canton.

Already during the first 2005/2006 academic year, 353 students were enrolled at the Faculty of Law in Zenica. After completing their undergraduate studies, these students quickly became recognizable as high-quality, diligent and hard-working lawyers. Many of those students continued their academic education at the postgraduate study which started at the Faculty of Law in Zenica in the academic year 2006/2007, when 75 students were enrolled. The doctoral studies at the Faculty of Law in Zenica, in accordance with the principles of the Bologna Declaration and the first of its kind at the University of Zenica, was launched in the academic year 2014/2015, with 24 PhD students enrolled. Doctoral study at the Faculty of Law is special in many ways, and one of its most significant features is the high-quality teaching staff and the innovative curriculum, adapted to the demands of the times and the latest european developments in the field of higher education.

Studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Zenica are conducted according to the model of the Bologna Declaration, and after the completion of the studies, the student acquires the professional title of BACHELOR OF LAW (LL.B.) with a total of 240 ECTS points. Completely innovated curricula allowacquiring modern knowledge in the field of legal sciences, compatible with the learning of colleagues from countries of the more developed world. Curricula and programs are aligned with the principles of the Bologna Declaration, which enables vertical and horizontal mobility.

Since March 2011, our Faculty of Law has been one of the members of the prestigious network of law schools in Southeast Europe (SEELS – www.seelawschool.org). Thanks to the membership in this network as well as other memberships, the opportunities for Law Faculty students to participate in international exchanges and competitions where they can acquire additional knowledge, skills and acquaintances in the legal structure, necessary for the legal construction and preservation of BiH as a state, are particularly significant.

During its existence, the Faculty of Law concluded a number of agreements with different domestic legal institutions, so that students are enabled to gain practical experience at the early stage during their studies. The agreements with the Cantonal and Municipal Court in Zenica, where students can attend the trials and communicate directly with the judges, stand out as particularly significant.

In the last few years, students of the Faculty of Law in Zenica, in addition to other activities, have successfully participated in both domestic and international competitions organized by the University of Oxford and the Faculty of Law in Belgrade, as well as international competitions in debating MOSTIMUN. During 2014, students of our Faculty had the opportunity to be part of the international media law competition in Oxford, as well as competitions in all major and important cities of the region and Europe. Student teams are currently preparing for three competitions that will take place in 2015, including the largest international competition in the field of civil and business law, the Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot in Vienna. Student visits have become common so that during the academic year students visited all renowned domestic and international legal institutions, including the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Prosecutor’s Office of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the International Criminal Tribunal for Yugoslavia in The Hague, Parliamentary Assemblies of various levels, etc.

The Faculty of Law in Zenica publishes the indexed journal “Annals of the Faculty of Law of the University of Zenica”, which was launched in 2007 under the original name “Social Research”. Already after the fourth issue, the journal grew into the recognizable “Annals of the Faculty of Law in Zenica”, which were published under that name in 10 issues (http://prf.unze.ba/anali.html). The journal’s editorial board is international, and all papers undergo a double review, including international reviews. Our renowned journal is located in the prestigious international databases EBSCO and C.E.E.O.L. Interested students can also publish their works in our journal, and in this way they will slowly but surely become recognizable academic citizens in the country, region, Europe and beyond.

At the end of 2014, the University of Zenica passed the Accreditation procedure by the Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance of Bosnia and Herzegovina, receiving an “unconditionally positive opinion.” Thus, the Faculty of Law in Zenica became the first Faculty of Law in BiH, accredited by the state Agency for Development of Higher Education and Quality Assurance, which made us part of a unique European educational space.