In the year 2001, the Faculty continued in the direction set in previous years towards enhancing the quality of teaching and strengthening its international character. In accordance with Article 60 of the Higher Education Act 111/1998, the Faculty opened a degree programme in Law in 2001/2002 as a part of its accredited Master's degree programme Law and Jurisprudence. Fifty-five participants enrolled in the programme.

Last year, the Faculty successfully completed the re-accreditation of its Master's degree programme in Law, and of Bachelor's degree programmes in Public Administration, Law and Business, Theory and Practice of Preliminary Criminal Proceedings, Real-estate law, Social Security Law, Business Law, and Law and International Trade. The Faculty also successfully re-accredited its doctorate degree programmes. The accreditation committee of the Czech Ministry of Education, of the Czech Republic confirmed the right of the Faculty to conduct doctoral examinations. The existing degree branches were reduced to a single one only (Law).    

There was no fundamental or significant change in individual degree programmes last year. The last stage of the reconstruction of the Master's syllabus was completed, with some changes to the concept of the final state examination. There was a continuing trend of teaching in foreign languages. The classes were given by Faculty teachers, lecturers from the MU language departments and foreign lecturers. In autumn 2001, the Faculty prepared for the internal accreditation of compulsory subjects in the Master's programme. The aim of the accreditation (whose major part and evaluation is to take place in the early 2002) is to get a very detailed understanding of degree programmes and reveal untapped reserves in teaching and time planning.

At present, the Faculty of Law has 2478 students enrolled in the Master's programme (including 177 international students and 55 participants in the Life-Long Education programme) and 251 students in the Bachelor's programme.

The post-graduate programme has 68 students (two of which are international students, one enrolled in a full-time programme and the other in a combined programme). The trends towards improving the quality of the programme further continued.

Research work was concentrated in 10 grant projects. The results of the projects appeared in 20 monographs by the Faculty teaching staff (two were published abroad). A total of 279 original articles and research papers (including contributions to almanacs) were published, 40 of which were published abroad.

The publication of both Faculty yearbooks (Orbis Iuris Romani and European Law Yearbook) continued, as did the publication of the Faculty law magazine. Creative and scholarly activities of the Faculty teachers were also reflected in their degrees: two of them successfully defended their Associate Professorship dissertations, and another two successfully completed the full professorship proceedings. One senior lecturer completed his doctorate studies and acquired the Ph.D. degree.

Bringing the results of research work into practice is being implemented in the same way as in the past, predominantly by preparing expert opinions for state institutions and by the participation of Faculty teachers in the legislative work of state bodies. The Faculty also organizes a large number of lectures for the wider legal and interested public. Several Faculty teachers continued to take part in the Czech-French course of European Administration organised in conjunction with the University of Rennes.

Last year, the Faculty teachers published 34 textbooks and lecture notes (for the use in the CR only). Some of the textbooks are being published in the second revised and enlarged editions.

The teaching of the EU Law continued into its second year as a part of the Jean Monnet Chair project, which was awarded to the Faculty by the European Commission.

Last year the MU Faculty of Law organised 3 conferences. Faculty teachers took part in 76 conferences and seminars, 33 of which were organised abroad.

Faculty students were also active in research: 17 of them participated in the third year of renewed competition held in conjunction with Student Research Activities (SVOC).

International relationships were further developed, both on the research and pedagogical levels. As every year, the Faculty welcomed a group of teachers from the John Marshall Law School in Chicago as well as teachers from the Faculty of Law of Paris XI University.

The Faculty played host to a total of 43 guests from abroad, most of whom gave a lecture at classes. Old contacts with universities abroad were continuously developed. New contacts were made with the Faculty of Law of Trnava University.

Faculty teachers went on 79 study-stays abroad. There was a considerable increase in the number of students attending short-term courses and long-term study-stays abroad (50), 15 of which were made possible by the SOCRATES/ERASMUS programme. In the spring term of 2001/2002, 13 students will spend some time at stays in universities abroad under that programme.