Saratov State Law Academy
The formation of legal education in Saratov is connected with the creation of the faculty of law in the Saratov State University in 1917. Qualified academics mostly from Moscow and Petrograd had been working at the faculty by the autumn of 1917.
In 1929-1930 the faculty of Law and Economics of the Saratov State University was divided into two separate ones: The Economics Faculty and the Faculty of Soviet Construction and Law.
In accordance with the act of The Russian Central Executive Committee of April 1931 “On actions of training and retraining of workers of Soviet Construction” the Faculty of Soviet Construction and Law of Saratov State University was reorganized into an independent institute. Thus, in
In 1934, the Institute of Soviet Law was renamed into the Legal Institute, and in 1936 - in the Saratov Institute of Law.
In 1933, the Institute got three-floored building No 45, located in the city center at the intersection of Pervomayskaya and Cooperative streets and had belonged to the Agrarian and Pedagogical Institute. Now this is one of the buildings of the Saratov State Law Academy.
The Institute was constantly cooperating with the investigative and prosecution agencies, courts and advocacy. The generalization of the practice conducted by the Institute's academics with the participation of students was discussed at the meetings of practitioners and became the basis for the development of educational and practical textbooks and methodological guidelines.
Students from all over the country were studying in the Institute of Law, so the management of the institute was always trying to increase the number of dormitories with comfortable living conditions.
The act of The Russian Central Executive Committee “On measures for the further development of legal science and legal education improvement”, adopted in 1964, played an important role in the training of legal specialists. The institute admitted 700 people to the first year of full time, part-time and extramural education. Every year as many specialists graduated as during pre-war years combined.
In 1972 under the supersession of the rector Ivan Pavlovich Demidov, the construction of the new four-floored building was finished. Nowadays it is still the main educational and administrative building of the Academy.
In 1973 Vitaliy Vasilievich Borisov became the rector of the Saratov Institute of Law; in 1994-1996 he was the rector of the Saratov State Law Academy. For 23 years of his work, the Saratov Institute of Law had become the largest center for science and legal specialists training. During these years a considerable material and technical basis had been created: a dormitory, ski center, sport and health camp, scientific library with over 80 000 books of educational and scientific literature.
For the remarkable contribution to the training of specialists and development of national legal science the Institution was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor by the decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 16, 1981
A new stage in the development of the university began with a change in the socio-political situation in the country, the transition of the country to a market economy. The Institute was transformed into the Saratov State Law Academy by the order of the Russian Federation State Committee on Higher Education on June 23, 1994. By that time the Academy had become one of the largest national centers for legal specialists training and the development of legal science in the European part of the Russian Federation.
In January 1996, the council of the Saratov State Law Academy unanimously elected Professor Fedor Andreevich Grigoriev as rector. The new management of the Academy was required to develop the activities plan, which, taking into account the needs and opportunities, provided by time, would make maximum use of the potential that the Academy possessed.
The management took the strategy for the significant increase in the number of students, the introduction of fee-based education while maintaining the access to free legal higher education, increasing the specialization of education and its modernization. This strategy realization required to solve many complex independent issues.
On March 30, 2006, the conference of the labor collective of the Saratov State Law Academy elected the Doctor of Sociological Sciences, Professor Sergey Borisovich Surovov the rector of the Academy.
Sergei Borisovich is well known in the Saratov region and Russia. He worked as the head of the department of education of Saratov administration, he was the Minister of Education of the Saratov region.
In December 2003, he was elected to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on the electoral roll of the electoral association of Unity and Fatherland (United Russia party), worked as Vice-chairman of the State Duma Committee on Education and Science.
Sergei Borisovich Surovov was re-elected in March 2011.
The university was renamed into the Federal State Budgetary Educational Institution of Higher Professional Education Saratov State Law Academy by the order of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation on May 27, 2011
The rapid development and quantitative growth of the Academy as an educational institution (the number of students and teachers had increased threefold over the past 10 years) was a response to the growing demand of the society in qualified legal specialists, able to serve the needs of a growing market economy, the establishment of a rule of law, including the growth of the number and variety of legal services, the development of a regulatory framework for the market environment.
Instruction is conducted in 9 institutes (the Institute of the Prosecutor's Office of the Russian Federation, the Institute of Justice, the Institute of Law Enforcement, the Institute of Lawmaking, the Institute of Magistracy, The institute of the Second Higher and Extramural Education, the Institute for Second Vocational Education, the Interregional Law Institute, the Law Institute of Legal Administration
The Academy has branches in Astrakhan, Balakovo (Saratov region) and Smolensk.
Second Higher and Extramural Education programs are realized in the College of Economics, Law, and Service. Saratov Interregional Center for Prosecutors and Federal State Civil Servants Vocational Training is operating on the basis of an agreement with the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation. Every year 380 specialists are trained here.
SSLA plays an important role in the realization of the social and economic development program of the Saratov region as well as the Volga Federal District.
The Academy has a long tradition of training specialists in close interaction with employers. Agreements have been concluded with many federal agencies, regional judicial and executive authorities.
In accordance with the agreements, the establishment and operation of branches of the basic departments of the Academy are carried out.
Cooperation with practitioners helps the Academy to adjust its training programs, create new special courses, organize internships, which allows preparing specialists, being able to meet the dynamically changing requirements to the legal profession of the time.
Foreign citizens can study at the Saratov State Law Academy on the following bachelor's, specialist, master and postgraduate programs in 2018/19:
40.03.01 Jurisprudence – intramural form (bachelor's program)
40.03.01 Jurisprudence – extramural form (bachelor's program)
40.05.01 Legal enforcement of national security – intramural form (specialist program)
40.05.02 Law enforcement Activities – intramural form (specialist program)
40.05.02 Law enforcement Activities – extramural form (specialist program)
40.05.03 Forensics– intramural form (specialist program)
40.05.04 Judicial and prosecution activities – intramural form (specialist program)
40.05.04 Judicial and prosecution activities – extramural form (specialist program)
40.04.01 Jurisprudence – intramural form (master program)
40.04.01 Jurisprudence – extramural form (master program)
40.06.01 Jurisprudence – intramural and extramural forms (Ph.D. program)
40.05.04 Judicial and prosecutorial activities – internal form (specialty)
40.05.04 Judicial and prosecutorial activities – correspondence form (specialty)
40.04.01 Jurisprudence – internal form (master's degree)
40.04.01 Jurisprudence – correspondence course (magistracy)
40.06.01 Jurisprudence – full-time and part-time form (post-graduate course)
41.06.01 Political science and regional studies - full-time and part-time form (post-graduate course)
47.06.01 Philosophy, ethics and religious studies - full-time and part-time form (post-graduate course)
Students from different countries are studying in (or have graduated from) the Saratov State Law Academy, such as:
• France;
• China;
• Poland;
• Switzerland;
• Azerbaijan;
• Armenia;
• the Republic of Belarus;
• Georgia;
• Kazakhstan;
• Kyrgyzstan;
• Tajikistan;
• Turkmenistan;
• Uzbekistan;
• Ukraine.
The results of the activity of the Saratov State Law Academy in social innovations: the development of the Concept of Legal Policy in the Russian Federation, the Executive Code project, the draft federal law "On Physical Culture and Sport in the Russian Federation”, comments on laws "Concerning Enforcement Proceedings", “On providing the access to the public relations of central and local authorities” and “On providing the access to the public relations of courts in the Russian Federation” and many other draft laws and regulations, including those for constituent territories of the Russian Federation.
The Academy takes an active part in competitions for scientific research of various levels.
In recent years, scientific research has been carried out within the basic and project parts of the State task of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, as well as the State task for carrying out the research work in the interests of the Departments of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.
The Academy also took part in carrying out research work within the international scientific and educational cooperation according to “Immanuel Kant" program
A number of research projects were implemented with the financial support of the President’s Grants Council to help young Russian scientists and leading scientific schools, the Russian Humanities Research Foundation, the Russian Foundation for Fundamental Research, the “Russian World” Foundation and many others.
Every year about 20 doctorate and Ph.D. theses are maintained in 3 dissertation counsels.
The Academy issues scientific journals such as "Bulletin of Saratov State Law Academy", "Legal Policy and Legal Life" (included in the list of the Higher Attestation Commission), “Person and Law – XXI century”, “Law. Legislation. Personality ", a collection of scientific works "Questions of the theory of state and law", student newspapers “Lawyer” and “Scientific Student Review”.
International activity of the Academy is carried out on the basis of 24 agreements for the development of scientific and educational connection with foreign universities (Great Britain, Germany, Republic of Kazakhstan, China, Lithuania, France, the USA, Ukraine).
Many of the faculty members of SSLA are the members of different international scientific associations and communities such as the International Law Association, the Administrative Law International Association, the French Association of Financial Law, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center and others.
In different years talented undergraduate, postgraduate students and faculty members of SSLA were given study grants and scholarships in universities in the USA and Europe.
Since 2008 SSLA has been providing the Rector’s grant competition for foreign education. Undergraduate, postgraduate students and faculty members can take part in this competition. Thus over 20 people go abroad for educational and scientific purposes annually.
The Academy realizes the concept of the unity of student professional education. It successfully develops a network of creative student clubs and studios and sports sections. It has a developed system of pre-university and special pupil training; It cooperates with more than 200 specialized and vocational schools in Saratov and the Saratov region as well.
In recent years the Academy has become a multi-disciplinary educational complex of the university type:
- We have all levels of professional training, which ensures the continuity of educational activities;
- We cover all areas of legal science and practice;
- We are developing the specialist training in scientific fields related to jurisprudence.
- We have launched a wide network of additional educational services.
The development plans of the Saratov State Law Academy are connected with active participation in the legal education modernization, the introduction of innovative technologies and programs in its activity. They are focused on training of specialists of a new type, being able to meet the needs of the time, with a strong adaptive capacity to work in new conditions.
This involves the orientation of educational activities to the formation of:
- high level and quality of knowledge, skills, corresponding to modern recruitment needs;
- Professional mobility: growth capacity, activity change, specializations adjustment and skills improvement;
- Ability to acquire knowledge independently and creatively;
- Ability to work in different segments of the information environment;
- Openness to the acquiring of new theoretical and practical experience;
- high moral and ethical standards, devotion to the ideals and values of new Russia.
All these tasks can be accomplished by the institute with strong material basis, producing in-demand specialists, having the great impact on lawmaking and law enforcement practice by its scientific researches, being prestigious in Russia and abroad.
Their realization in the field of the quality of educational and scientific activities improvement presupposes:
Providing education continuity through all its levels: secondary level education (schools and colleges) by improving the quality of pre-university education; high level of education by increasing its specializations and creating the conditions for getting the second higher legal education; post-graduate level by opening new specializations in master and postgraduate programs.
Improving practical education, creation of departments branches affiliated with Law Enforcement and state organizations. Expansion of the legal clinic being the form of the preparation of students for their future career.
Academy integration into the world educational and scientific space presupposes the intensification of educational and scientific connections, including bilateral treaties, which have been already signed with many foreign organizations.
Among them:
- Yaroslav Mudryi National Law University (Kharkiv, Ukraine);
- Makhambet Utemisov West Kazakhstan State University (Uralsk, Kazakhstan);
- KAZGUU University (Astana, Kazakhstan);
- Belarussian State University (Minsk, the Republic of Belarus);
- Noravank Scientific Educational Foundation (Egevan, the Republic of Armenia);
- Tajik National University (Dushanbe, Tadjikistan);
- Kyrgyz National University (Bishkek, Kirghizia);
- Center of international programs of the Ministry of Education and Science of Tadjikistan (Dushanbe, Tadjikistan);
- Vilnius University (Vilnius, Lithuania);
- Institute for Legal Policy of the University of Trier (Trier, Germany);
- Institute of East European Law of the University of Cologne (Cologne, Germany);
- Institute of East European Law of Kiel University (Kiel, Germany);
- The University of Bialystok (Bialystok, Poland);
- Palacký University Olomouc (Olomouc, Czech Republic);
- Faculty of Law of Masaryk University (Brno, Czech Republic);
- CEU Cardenal Herrera University (Valencia, Spain);
- Law school association of the Russian-German Law Institute (Moscow, the Russian Federation)
- The University of Kansas (Lawrence, the USA);
- Sister cities committee Saratov-Dallas (Dallas, the USA);
- François Rabelais University (Tours, France);
- Criminal Police University of the Ministry of Public Security (Shenyang, China)
- National law school of Indian University (Bangalore, India).