The renovated auditorium of the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH) was inaugurated, where virtual trials and simulations of the Parliament will be hosted. This space, which will essentially link knowledge with practice, will be used not only by the professors and students of the Law School, but also by the National School of Judicial Officers to hold mock trials of all jurisdictions. The ribbon was cut by the President of the Council of State Michalis Pikranos and the President of the Supreme Court Anastasia Papadopoulou.The works began last December and were funded by the rectorate, the NSRF and private sponsorship.
Welcoming the attendees, the rector of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Kyriakos Anastasiadis, pointed out that the renovated amphitheatre “creates the connection between knowledge and practice” and referred to the latest survey conducted among students of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and revealed that 2/3 of them want applied knowledge. He also underlined that the Faculty of Law has the first pilot project announced by the Prime Minister in higher education for artificial intelligence within the Aristotle University.
For his part, the dean of the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Panagiotis Glavinis, noted that in addition to mock trials, the venue can be transformed into a parliamentary venue and the witness’s bench can become the speaker’s bench. He also thanked those who contributed to the renovation of the hall, the employees of the School, the Rectorate for contributing to most of the costs of this renovation and the lawyer Sakis Kechagioglou for his sponsorship.
The Deputy Minister of Education, Religious Affairs and Sports, Professor Nikos Papaioannou, described the renovated space as a jewel and said: “This is the Greek public University, this is the University of today and tomorrow, this is what must be promoted and this is due to its people. This is where knowledge begins.” He said he was excited and proud to be a member of the AUTH family, referred to it as an international extroverted university and also noted that the auditoriums of the Faculty of Medicine came from the proceeds of the first foreign-language undergraduate programme in Medicine.
In addition, Deputy Minister of Development Stavros Kalafatis noted: “This infrastructure, the effort of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the Law School, is yet another sign that it is ahead, that it substantiates in practice the claim and the pride we all have in this University of the country. It shows that it is ahead in the right direction, for applied practice. The knowledge that we learn in all the faculties without exception should have a direct impact, a positive footprint on society or on the development model that we want to offer.” He also referred to the Prime Minister’s announcement of the creation of a new ministry of higher education, research and innovation.
Preservation of the University
The need to safeguard the University was underlined by the Minister of Rural Development and Food, former Vice President of the European Commission, Margaritis Schinas and graduate of the Faculty of Law of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. After recalling his personal journey at the Law School, he also sent a message in every direction saying: “The University must always remain a place for the academic community. We should never allow the bahalaks and various oddballs to divert the University from what it was built for. And that is not the job of the police, it is not the job of the deanery, it is not the job of the administration. It is also the job of the academic community and society. We need to take the University into our own hands and find ways to make these sad minorities feel minority and alien to the rest of us.”
In the same vein, the President of the Supreme Court Anastasia Papadopoulou, also brought back memories of her time at the Law School of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and addressing the students of the School, she said: “We must preserve the University as much as we can. You are all young, you all have the drive of youth, dreams, you can protest about anything, but not in an extreme way. I too was in marches, I was young, we held banners in 1982, which was not one of the easiest times, as there were warring factions, there were too many, but there was always a respect for the University. There were not various extra-university enclaves within the University. They have no business within the university. If you don’t preserve the University, who do you expect to preserve it?”
“Justice in Greece is very high”
Papadopoulou described legal science as the crowning glory of science and stressed: “Justice in Greece is very high. The Greek judge works harder than all European judges and always rises to the occasion. Respect for the institutions is above all. Only if the institutions work do we live in a free democracy.”
Taking the floor, the President of the Council of State, Michael Pikranenos, pointed out, among other things, that the administration of justice and its quality depend on the quality of legal studies, University professors have a share of responsibility for what kind of justice we have in our country, and the University has a great responsibility to develop students’ critical thinking. At the same time, he recommended attention to new technologies and artificial intelligence, as he said the information they provide should be monitored. He also stressed the importance of meaningful professional education of lawyers in Greece and emphasized on ethics and ethical self-commitment of lawyers.
For his part, Professor Yannis Simeonidis, Commissioner General of the State of the Ordinary Administrative Courts, commented that “there is no theory without practice and practice without theory” therefore, stressed that it is particularly important that this room now exists in the Law School “so that the new generation, with the freshness of youth and the enthusiasm of age, can confirm what they learn in these chairs and whether it can actually be implemented in real life”.
The mock trial was mentioned by Brigade Knot, State Counsel and Director General of the National School of Judicial Officers, saying it is one of the key tools within the training. He further said that in the hall inaugurated today, this process “will be expanded with the osmosis that will exist not only from the judicial officers who organize mock trials, but also with the students of the school, and undergraduate and postgraduate students.”
President of the Thessaloniki Bar Association Dimitris Finokaliotis noted: “The importance of this idea is twofold: on the one hand it is a creation of a better infrastructure, on the other hand it is a vision of how the legal world needs to evolve in relation to education.” “We believe that justice is so important as a guarantee of the whole rule of law that we can only do our best to ensure that it is of the highest possible standard,” he added.
The event was also attended by the deputy head of Health and Social Solidarity of the Region of Central Macedonia Melina Dermendzopoulou.
