Towards Sustainable Legal Education Reform: Interdisciplinary and Transdisciplinary Approaches in Albania's Justice System

Adrian Leka, Brunilda Haxhiu

This article examines the role of public legal education as part of Albania’s broader justice system reform process and highlights the challenges that were faced in its implementation. Legal education has been recognized as essential for building trust in justice institutions and promoting civic participation, however, Albania’s reform efforts have struggled to bring visible and measurable outcome for the strategic goals. The article identifies gaps in the current approach, including the lack of mechanisms for assessing public legal awareness and the absence of clear institutional coordination for legal education initiatives. The article employs a interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lens, in order to advocate for combining various fields such as law, social sciences, and education to increase the effectiveness and sustainability of public legal education. We explore how interdisciplinary communication could improve the distribution of legal information, and we emphasize the need for legal education programs that are open to people from diverse cultures and educational backgrounds. Additionally, we propose a transdisciplinary approach that would help align legal education with society’s goals at large, including social justice and civic participation, which can lead to a better inclusion of citizens in the justice system and political decision-making. At the end, the article calls for a consistent, sustainable strategy that includes legal education as part of a comprehensive national framework, which would ensure long-term results and visible outcomes towards a more informed society. We recommend that Albania can build a culture of legal awareness that strengthens the public trust in the legal system and supports democratic values, through continued investment in resources, institutional capacity, and collaboration across sectors.

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