Parliamentary simulation: the bridge between law students and political institutions 1

This paper presents the results of the parliamentary simulation project that arose from the joint efforts of the University and the Parliament of Catalonia. We analyse the advantages of using this method in motivating the students to learn parliamentary constitutional law, and the impact it has on improving the links between the legal education system and the political institutions. Parliament is one of the basic institutions of our political and democratic system, and also one of the topics in the subject of constitutional law. Therefore, a theoretical knowledge of parliamentary proceedings is traditionally acquired within the classroom. However, the parliamentary system has evolved and it has progressively become more technically complex. This means that students perceive both the institution and its peculiar rules, the parliamentary proceedings, as distant, obsolete, excessively rigid or even absurd; to sum up, they are alien to the students' everyday world. Furthermore, a comprehensive learning scheme also requires student to participate actively, so that they can develop such skills as teamwork, the immediate analysis of actual conflicts, the ability to react, to argue and to make a coherent speech, etc. In this context, parliamentary simulation is an excellent instrument for drawing students closer to the highest representative institution in our country, for it allows them to act like real MPs for a week. Not only do they use the same juridical tools and the same skills as the politicians do, they also use them in the same real scenario, that is, in the Parliament Buildings of the Catalan Assembly. Consequently, the students experience how Parliament works and understand the need for the rules governing its functioning and the reason behind the proceedings. In this way they acquire a comprehensive vision of the Catalan political panorama and parliamentary dynamics, and are prepared to become better citizens. Our paper focuses first on the programme of activities organized during the academic year and the goals of each one: these activities include guided visits to both regional and national parliamentary institutions; meetings with MPs, in which students share the political agenda of the chosen MPs for one day; and the assistance and participation in radio talk shows and interviews. Second, the paper describes the actual simulation, which took place in building of the Catalan Parliament, during the first week of July. Finally it ends with some concl