Legal competence of students whose major is not law and professional competence of future lawyers

The article deals with the topical question of the difference between the concepts of “legal competence”, “professional competence of future lawyers” within the framework of scientific and practical problems associated with the necessity to specify the conceptual instrument of the competence-based approach to education. The article analyzes the works in the field of competence-based approach in order to determine the content of the concepts of “legal competence” and “professional competence of future lawyers”. There is a link between competence approach and system approach. The difference of the concepts “competence” and “the knowledge, skills” is shown, the main components of competence are revealed. The authors give a description of the concepts “legal competence”, “professional competence of future lawyers” in the system of professional preparation at higher education institutions. Therefore, authors come to the conclusion that the concept of “legal competence” has remained in the modern psychological and pedagogical literature when considering professional preparation for higher school students of non-law professions, while the concept “professional competence of future lawyers” has to do with professional preparation in the system of law education.