Open letter to the Faculty of Law in Lund

A special kind of joy spread at JF on June 1, 2022 when the Board of the Faculty of Law decided to provisionally apply for an exemption from the university-wide term times. A feeling of an impending and long-awaited change. The students at the law program in Lund would be given the opportunity for a week of recovery between the autumn and spring semesters. The work that JF began in 2017 had finally led to concrete measures to improve the well-being of law students. It is now proposed that the application be withdrawn. Therefore, we, who have worked on the issue of a winter break for the past five years, are writing this open letter on behalf of the students.

Study-related stress has long been a problem among law students and is the Faculty of Law's biggest challenge. It is reasonable that the education places high demands on students and it is natural for law students to feel pressure and stress at times. What is not reasonable is that students study for 40 weeks straight, without the opportunity to recover. Students are expected to study and do study throughout the entire academic year, even during the Christmas break. The fact that there is no opportunity for recovery during the academic year worsens the study climate in an environment that is already characterized by severe pressure, stress and grade anxiety. The mental health of law students is repeatedly confirmed to JF through student affairs and officially, most recently in the Student Barometer conducted in 2017. Teachers testify that solutions to the problem have been discussed for over 30 years, but no measures have yet been taken. The fact that the Faculty of Law, despite pressure for over three decades, has not improved the psychosocial study environment is a failure that affects both existing and prospective students. If the Faculty of Law's goal is to offer a high-quality legal education where learning is the focus, we can clearly say that the faculty is currently doing something wrong. Law students are currently not given the conditions to fully benefit from the education.

In light of this, law students want recovery to be made possible, which was confirmed in a survey conducted by JF in 2020, where a full 86% of respondents were in favor of introducing a winter break. JF and the Faculty of Law have since worked together on a proposal to free up time for recovery between the autumn and spring semesters. The measure would mean that students in the spring semester would be given better conditions to take on their studies and that teachers would be allowed to teach rested students, who are not completely exhausted after having written an exam just a few days earlier. It is therefore deeply regrettable that the faculty management now wants to withdraw the application that would enable a winter break. The management believes that the proposal lacks support from the staff, and is therefore not feasible. JF understands that the proposal involves a change and certain challenges for the staff. Change is never easy and of course it is important to discuss what consequences a change in the semester times would have. Ultimately, however, the identified problems must be put in relation to each other, and then it is difficult to understand the resistance that a proposal that would bring so much positive has been met with. A winter break would not solve all the study stress-related problems at the Faculty of Law, but it is a feasible proposal that would mean improvement. With the covid-19 pandemic, we have seen that far greater challenges can be handled with a little will.

A new working group has been established to continue working on study-related stress at the law program in Lund. It is of course good that the faculty continues to work broadly, but law students cannot wait for yet another working group to conclude that the will of the staff takes precedence over the well-being of the students. The Faculty of Law is also responsible for the students' work environment. Enough with empty words, now the faculty needs to act.

To all law students at the Faculty of Law in Lund - we hear you, we believe you, and we take your well-being very seriously. No one should have to perform the way you do non-stop for ten months.

To the management of the Faculty of Law - think again and think right. Don't make the best the enemy of the good. Heed the students' plea and introduce a break between semesters.


The letter is signed by the Presidents of the Legal Association 2019–2023*

Ellen Palmgren
President 2022/23

Samuel Hertsberg Åsander
President 2020/21

Ella Sjöbeck
President 2019/20

*President 2021/22 Emmy Svensson is prevented from representing students at only one faculty due to her position of trust for Lund University's student unions.