Athens Law School

What I can see

The Law School of Athens is a school of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens and is housed in a complex of buildings of different phases. The oldest building is the neoclassical one at 3 Sina Street. Today, the eclectic building at 47 Akadimias Street and the neoclassical building with modern influences at 45 Akadimias Street are also used by the school. In the interwar period, the building at Solonos Street was constructed. It was designed by Emmanuel Kriezis and has Bauhaus influences. It was then known as the “Theoretical Sciences” building and was later extended to Massalias Street. Until the 1980s, the complex housed the schools of Law, Philosophy and Theology. The last two were relocated to the Zografou campus and now only the Law School is housed here, which is divided into 6 sectors (Private Law I, Private Law II, Public Law, Criminal Sciences, History and Theory of Law, International Studies).

What I can't see

The Law School was founded during the first years of Greek independence. The influences of Roman law were strong in the young state. At that time, however, the influences of the French and German Schools dominated internationally. French School was quite far from the logic of Roman law. Over the years, the German School eventually prevailed in the creation of scientific tools for drafting a Civil Code and filled policy gaps of Roman law. Today, excellent students get into Law as is one of the most difficult schools. Greek families and Greek society as a whole, still consider it a “prestigious” degree and as a result, a large number of students do not complete their studies, because it is not what they ultimately want to study. In addition, Law School is a symbol of the anti-dictatorship struggle (1967-1974). On February 21 and 22, 1973, thousands of students occupied the faculty in opposition to the regime’s law that could force them into military service by canceling the necessary postponement and the law for compulsory service of dissident students. Members of the school council were imprisoned by the regime, students rallied and the big support of the people was expressed through mass demonstrations. These events were a “harbinger” of what followed in the Polytechnic (Technical University) events, a few months later.

Info

• Address: 45 Akadimias St.
• Postal Code : 10672
• Phone: +30 210 3688646
• E-mail: [email protected]
• Website: http://www.law.uoa.gr

Bibliography