The Senate of Maribor University discussed the study programme and adopted it at its meeting on 23. 9. 2008. On 12. 3. 2009, the Council for Higher Education of the Republic of Slovenia granted accreditation in the procedure of introducing the study programme.

To advance from the 1st to the 2nd year, the candidate must pass the prescribed examination obligations from the subject Legal Methodology in the scope of 9 ECTS and pass the obligations from the Individual Research Work I and II, which count 42 ECTS, so that they achieve 51 ECTS. To advance from the 2nd to the 3rd year, the candidate must complete the study obligations of the first year (in the amount of 60 ECTS) and the study obligations of the second year in the amount of at least 39 ECTS.

The Doctor of Science can continue the postdoctoral study.

The current characteristic of these graduates is that they are employed in the non-economy, especially in the field of justice. That's gratifying. The field of justice is the field where the most typical legal professions operate, such as judge, public prosecutor, ombudsman. Advocacy is also part of the judiciary but differs from those listed in that lawyers operate in the market and assume entrepreneurial risk, which is why advocacy is defined in economic activities. The field of public administration is an activity in which lawyers are often employed, namely for those positions that require independent decision-making and mastery of written and oral communication skills in proceedings with clients, especially in administrative proceedings. According to the data of the Employment Service of Slovenia, lawyers in the Republic of Slovenia are employed in the field of administration in approximately the same share as in the field of economy.

The method of examination and assessment of knowledge at the University of Maribor is uniformly regulated by the Statute of the University of Maribor and the Rules on examination and assessment of knowledge at the University of Maribor, no. A4 / 2009-41 AG as amended. With the Rules and curricula of subjects, for each study unit of the study program, the forms of verification or ways of assessing students. Each course concludes with a final examination of the student's knowledge. The emphasis is on an oral examination in the form of a discussion, the purpose of which is to check whether the student demonstrates an understanding of scientific research in the field of law, is able to independently use methods of scientific research in law, and use methods of legal reasoning and argumentation. The specific methods of testing knowledge are specified in more detail in the curricula of individual subjects, and include: oral examination; written exams; completed seminars; seminar (project) work, and seminar (project) work with oral presentation. Methods of continuous assessment and assessment of knowledge are encouraged, thus enabling students to continuously monitor their own progress in their studies. All curricula are publicly published in the catalog of Bologna subjects. Students can monitor the results of approaches to exams through AIPS and in the context of personal data protection on the PF bulletin board and on the PF website.

• deepening knowledge or upgrading legal content acquired at lower levels of law, • to educate a law student for independent, professionally critical, and responsible work in a profession that requires top knowledge in the field of law, • to involve a law student in in-depth scientific research work in the field of law using scientific research methods, • to provide the law student with the most in-depth knowledge in basic and narrower fields of law, • introduce a law student to work in a domestic and international environment, • to form an awareness of the importance of law as an instrument for regulating social relations, • provide the law student with in-depth knowledge of important elements of philosophy and theory of law, • upgrade students' rhetorical skills, • consolidate and upgrade the sense of correct perception and interpretation of legal norms and fairness and professional ethics, • provide the law student with the necessary knowledge of legal methods and skills and encourage the mobility of law students, • to enable students to successfully form a professional profile by choosing legal content from a set of module subjects.

• ability to have an in-depth understanding of theoretical and methodological concepts, • ability to master appropriate methods of scientific research work, • ability to identify, analyze, synthesize and anticipate legal solutions in the preparation of scientific work, • ability to use research methods in the preparation of scientific research work, • autonomy in scientific research and the ability to make critical judgments in decision-making, • ability to independently use the acquired theoretical knowledge to solve problems in practice, • ability to formulate (prepare) legal regulations within expert groups and the ability to lead expert groups for preparation of legal regulations, • development of communication skills, especially constant communication in the international environment, • ability to analyze comparative legal sources, • ability to work in project groups, cooperation, • ability of ethical reflection and deep commitment to professional ethics, • ability to work and create in an international environment, • the ability to mentor younger colleagues in institutes, universities, companies, etc., • efficiency in the use of available resources: own creative and intellectual ability, available intellectual capital (collaborators), other tangible and intangible resources (money, equipment, space, and time).

Graduates of the doctoral study of Law are top experts with the appropriate theoretical and practical knowledge to perform the most demanding professional tasks in the field of law. For this reason, they must obtain or. acquire the following subject-specific competencies: • solving the most demanding legal problems by testing and improving known solutions, • solving the most demanding legal problems or theoretical treatment of the most demanding legal problems in the field of basic legal sciences, civil law, commercial law, criminal law, financial law, and public law, • identifying, analyzing, and solving concrete problems in the field of law, • production of scientific work using the appropriate methodology of scientific research work (scientific articles, monographs), • publishing in domestic and foreign professional publications, • transfer of knowledge in the form of lectures, expertise, and advice to other users of law, • knowledge of the placement of new information in the field of law and interpretations in the context of the fundamental legal discipline, • knowledge and understanding of the justifications, dogmatics, and history of the development of a particular legal discipline, • understanding and application of methods of critical analysis and development of theories and their use in the development of new knowledge and in solving concrete problems, • intensive and continuous use of information and communication technology, • in-depth understanding of theoretical and methodological concepts, • independent development of new knowledge, • developing critical reflection. Specific competencies thus highlight the integration of theory and practice in solving the most demanding problems, the use of various methods specific to legal science and the profession, and emphasize the publication of student scientific achievements and other ways of presentation.

Candidates who completed the following may apply for the 3rd cycle (doctoral) study programme in Law: - A 2nd-cycle (master’s) study programme. - An undergraduate academic study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 and corresponding to 240 ECTS credits. - Another unified (long-cycle) master’s study programme corresponding to 300 ECTS credits. - A specialisation following an undergraduate professional study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004 and corresponding to 240 ECTS credits in total. Prior to enrolment, candidates shall pass the following courses corresponding to 60 ECTS credits under the 2nd-cycle (master’s) study programme in Law: Philosophy and Theory of Law (8 ECTS), Lex Mercatoria (7 ECTS), The EU System of Judicial Protection (7 ECTS), Legal Methods, Skills and Informatics (8 ECTS), Civil Law: Selected Topics (5 ECTS), Civil Procedure: Selected Topics (5 ECTS), Business and Company Law: Selected Materials (5 ECTS), Criminal Law: Selected Topics (5 ECTS), Labour Law and Social Law: Selected Topics (5 ECTS), and Constitutional and Administrative Law and EU Law: Selected Topics (5 ECTS).

If the number of applications exceeds the number of available enrolment places, candidates shall be ranked according to: – grade point average including the thesis (20%) and – grade awarded for an oral competitive examination (80%). Criteria used in the oral competitive examination: - relevance of the research topic; - correspondence between the field of research and scientific-research work conducted at the Faculty of Law and the availability of a suitable supervisor; - previous scientific-research work conducted by the candidate (published professional and scientific papers, professional and scientific monographs, or chapters in a monograph); and - other criteria.

Candidates who completed the following may apply for the 3rd-cycle (doctoral) study programme in Law: – A master of science study programme adopted prior to 11 June 2004. Candidates are awarded between 60 and 120 ECTS credits and may enrol in either the second or the third year of study. – A specialisation (60 ECTS credits) following an undergraduate academic study programme (240 ECTS credits) adopted prior to 11 June 2004 and corresponding to 300 ECTS credits in total. Candidates are awarded at least 60 ECTS credits. Candidates eligible to enrol directly in the second or third year of study shall attend doctoral workshops and pass the first and second doctoral seminar. In accordance with the transfer criteria, candidates may transfer to the 3rd-cycle (doctoral) study programme in Law from other 3rd-cycle (doctoral) study programmes in the field of law (0421) or an affiliated field – business and administration (0488), social sciences (0388), and security services (1032) – provided they lead to the acquisition of comparable competencies and that at least half of the study obligations under the previous study programme relating to compulsory courses of the new study programme are recognised. Depending on the amount of recognised study obligations completed under the previous study programme attended in the Republic of Slovenia or abroad, candidates may be admitted to the same or a subsequent year of study of the 3rd-cycle (doctoral) study programme in Law. Under the recognition procedure, fulfilled study obligations that may be recognised fully or partially are identified, and study obligations required for completion of the new study programme are laid down.

Applications for the recognition of knowledge and skills are considered by the Faculty of Law under the relevant regulations, namely the Rules on the recognition of knowledge and skills in the study programs of the University of Maribor no. 012/2019/2, which regulates the procedures for the identification, verification, and recognition of knowledge and the criteria for the recognition of knowledge and skills acquired before enrollment in the study program, which candidates acquire through formal, non-formal or experiential learning. Candidates in the process of identifying, verifying, and recognizing knowledge and skills acquired before enrollment in the study program are generally recognized obligations up to a maximum of 30 ECTS according to the study program to which the candidates wish to enroll or are enrolled, but exceptionally the candidate may also be granted several obligations. The candidate submits an application for recognition of knowledge to the Commission for Study Affairs of the Senate of the Faculty of Law, University of Maribor. Knowledge may be recognized in full, only in part or not. In case they are partially recognized, the student is assigned a partial exam from the chapters determined by the course holder. The criterion for the recognition of knowledge and skills is the equivalence of knowledge and skills acquired through formal and non-formal education about the content of the program or individual subjects. Students of master's study programs for obtaining the title of Master of Laws or Masters of Science in a certain field of law, who have not yet prepared and defended a master's thesis, are recognized knowledge and skills from these programs up to 90 ECTS, where recognition cannot include the subject Legal Methodology.

The Third-cycle doctoral study program in Law is completed when the student completes all study obligations in the amount of 180 credit points - ECTS (passes all examinations determined by the third-cycle doctoral study program Law and prepares and successfully defends a doctoral dissertation).