Bern, Sofia and the legal education from the beginning of XX century until the end of the First World War

Abstract

Valuable documents, revealing various aspects related to the legal education at the University of Bern, Switzerland, were discovered during the project “Documentary Traces of prof. Konstantin Katzarov”, funded by the “Konstantin and Zinovia Katzarovi” Fund at the University of Geneva. This article aims to present a brief and systematic summary of the conclusions that can be drawn regarding Bulgarian law students in the University of Bern from the beginning of XX century until the end of the First World War. The article focuses on data from the university and cantonal archives in Bern, with some of the information traced and supplemented by data from the university archives of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. Special attention is given to the significance of the Faculty of Law at Sofia University for Bulgarian students seeking opportunities to continue or develop their legal education in Western European universities or to graduate from Alma Mater after beginning their studies at the University of Bern.