Die Verwechslungsgefahr der juristischen Abschlüsse als Nachwirkung der Bologna-Reform

The changes in the academic world that resulted from the Bologna-Process hardly affected the area of legal sciences. Apart from a few non-traditional law studies the core of the law studies remained untouched. This does not mean they will not be affected. One item that has the potential for significant conflicts is the degrees that both areas traditional and non-traditional are awarding their graduates. Unlike in the pre-Bologna era there is the potential of confusing the general public as the degrees no longer offer ways of distinction. A lack of distinction might fuel legal cases around the use of correctly earned degrees for commercial purposes. The use itself has to comply with competition law requirements. Obviously confusion in the market about qualification needs to be avoided, but it is also important not to restrict commercial activities in the legal area in a way that it is impossible for non-traditional legal specialists to compete. Such a balanced approach requires a legal perspective focusing on the actual situation as well as the avoidance of further commercial activities that would fuel wrong expectations of the market.