LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIA-
GLOBAL CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES
By Dr. T Padma.,LLM., Ph D
“The legal education should be able to
meet the ever growing demands of the society and should be thoroughly equipped
to cater to the complexities of the different situations”[1].
-Supreme Court of
India
BACKGROUND
Since the Vedic times, dispensation of
justice has been considered a sacred 'Dharma'. Such dispenser of Justice, the
King or any of his nominee, used to be one considered infallible- the integrity
personified. The Regulation Act, 1772 recognized for the first time the legal
profession in India. Thereafter, it was codified in Bengal Regulation-Vll of
1793, prescribing the scales of fee to be charged by the Vakils. It was further
modified by the Legal Practitioners Act, 1846 as a subject to regulate both the
Vakils and Barristers. The Legal Practitioners Act, 1853 and 1879 made suitable
amendments. The Bar Council Act, 1926 was passed to unify the Bar in India and
to give legal profession measured autonomy in its affairs wherein the State Bar
Councils and the High Courts were authorised to regulate the admission and the
conduct of the Advocates practicing in the Courts. Rule of law became
fundamental doctrine for governance of country with the adoption of the
Constitution in the post independence era. Consequently, arose the need to
streamline the legal education in the country and finally, the Advocates Act,
1961 replaced the pre-existing laws and gave autonomy to the Bar Council of
India and the Bar Councils of the States. Under the Act, one of the many
functions of the Bar Council of India is to promote legal education and lay
down standards of such education in consultation with the Universities,
imparting such education, and the Bar Councils of the States. It is also
required to maintain high standards in legal profession and discipline the
Advocates.
Section
7 (1) (h) requires the BCI to “consult the universities for the purpose of
laying down these standards of legal education”. Section 7(1) (i) of the Act
enables the BCI to grant recognition to universities whose law degrees shall be
sufficient qualification for enrolment as an advocate. The BCI may, for this
purpose, visit and inspect the universities concerned whose degrees in law may
be recognized for the purpose of enrolment of law graduates as lawyers. Similar
power is conferred by Section 6(1) (gg) of the Act on the State Bar Councils in
regard to inspection. Section A of Part IV of the Rules made by the BCI deals
with the five years’ course, Section B deals with the three years’ course and
Section C deals with inspection.
However, in practice, it may not be possible for the BCI to consult each
and every University and there is no manner prescribed in the Advocates Act,
1961 for rendering effective consultation in this regard.
Today,
legal education has to meet not only the requirements of the Bar and the new
needs of trade, commerce and industry but also the requirements of
globalization. New subjects with international dimensions have come into legal
education. There is also an enormous need for non-practising law graduates in
trade and commerce. It is also necessary to allow engineers, Company
Secretaries, chartered Accountants, scientists and doctors to qualify in law
for non-practising purposes. Indeed, it is gratifying that some Indian
Institute of Technology (“IIT”) institutions have recently started several
courses in law. The Open University system must also be allowed to cater to
legal education. The Bar Council of India may, of course, still deal
with the minimum standards of legal education for the purposes of entry into
the Bar but there is a need to have a new regulatory mechanism that will cater
to the aforementioned present and future needs of the country.
PARADIGM
SHIFT IN CONCEPTUAL THINKING
India currently faces the major
challenges in the field of providing legal education to respond to global
challenges. Although, India has emerged as a leading global hub for the
knowledge based service industry for the past decade but it still needs a
revolution to meet and respond to global challenges in providing services
particularly by the lawyers whether in litigation or non-litigation side.
At present, professional legal education is being imparted by 913 colleges recognised by the Bar Council of India and 14 National Law Universities/Schools established under the State Acts. The Bar Council of India under the Advocates Act, 1961 has made rules to regulate the legal education but the standard of legal education does not meet the present day requirements of the legal profession. The matter relating to the legal education has been examined by the Law Commission of India in its 184th Report on Legal Education and Professional Training and Proposals for Amendments to the Advocates Act, 1961 and the UGC Act, 1956 (2002). Earlier Supreme Court of India has already made some observations in this regard in cases like Salem Advocates Bar Association v Union of India and V. Sudeer vs Bar Council of India. In the recent past, the National Knowledge Commission has made certain recommendations in its report particularly in the area of research in legal education. The suggestions / recommendations made by these bodies are briefly discussed hereunder.
a) The Law Commission’s
Recommendations
The Law Commission in its 184th Report,
(2002) (Para 5.16) has pointed out that there are revolutionary changes which
have come into legal education by reason of developments in information, communication,
transport technologies, intellectual property, corporate law, cyber law, human
rights, ADR, international business, comparative taxation laws, space laws,
environmental laws etc. and that “The
very nature of law, legal institutions and law practice are in the midst of a
paradigm shift”.
The aim of transnational legal education
is not to create individuals who can ‘practice’ law in a number of
jurisdictions. Although graduates of such a program may well wish to do so,
such ability should not be seen as an objective in itself, but merely as an
incidental result. The aim of any new program should be to create lawyers who
are comfortable and skilled in ‘dealing’ with the differing legal systems and
cultures that make up our global community while remaining strong in one’s own
national legal system. Our lawyers must be trained to specialize in
international trade practices, comparative law, conflict of laws, international
human rights law, environmental law, gender justice, space law, biomedical law,
bio-ethics, international advocacy etc. They must also acquire a general
knowledge of American, French, German, Chinese and Japanese law. For example,
in South Korea, in the last 10 years, the curriculum has been expanded to
include not only the above subjects, but also International Business,
International Contracts, International Civil Procedure and laws of England,
America, France and Germany.
Globalization does not merely mean addition or
inclusion of new subjects in the curriculum as stated above. While that is, no
doubt, an important matter, the broader issue is to prepare the legal
profession to handle the challenges of globalization and internationalization
This obviously goes far beyond preparing graduates only for practice at the Bar
or for the subordinate judiciary.
b) Observations made by Supreme Court
In Salem Advocates Bar Association v Union of
India[2]
The Supreme Court observed that training
of ‘Alternative Dispute Resolution’ system should be given to law students,
lawyers and judges, in view of the recent amendments to the Code of Civil
Procedure, 1908 (Sec.89).
In V.
Sudeer vs Bar Council of India[3], the Apex court observed that a law graduate
shall get training from an Advocates having 10 years experience in the Bar, and
should also qualify Bar examination, before allowing him to be enrolled as an
Advocate.
c)
The
National Knowledge Commission’s Recommendations (October,2007)
The National Knowledge Commission, while
deliberating on issues related to knowledge concepts, not only recognizes legal
education as an important constituent of professional education but also
endorsed the view that the vision of legal education is to provide
justice-oriented education essential to the realization of values enshrined in
the Constitution of India. In keeping with this vision, legal education must
aim at preparing legal professionals who will play decisive leadership roles,
not only as advocates practising in courts, but also as academics, legislators,
judges, policy makers, public officials, civil society activists as well as
legal counsel in the private sector, maintaining the highest standards of
professional ethics and a spirit of public service. Legal education should also
prepare professionals equipped to meet the new challenges and dimensions of internationalization,
where the nature and organization of law and legal practice are undergoing a
paradigm shift. Further, there is need for original and path breaking legal
research to create new legal knowledge and ideas that will help meet these
challenges in a manner responsive to the needs of the country and the ideals
and goals of our Constitution.
As part of a consultative process, the
National Knowledge Commission constituted a working group of experts, including
distinguished members of the Bar, the bench and academia under the chairmanship
of Justice M. Jagannadha Rao to suggest necessary measures to improve the
quality of legal education in India. After due consultations with stakeholders,
the Commission has identified a few key
reform proposals to bring about a qualitative transformation in legal education
essential to meet present and future needs and made the following
recommendations:
1.
A New Standing Committee for Legal Education-
Regulatory Reform
The National Knowledge
Commission recommend the setting up of a new regulatory mechanism under the
Independent Regulatory Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE), vested with
powers to deal with all aspects of legal education and whose decisions are
binding on the institutions teaching law and on the union and state governments
2. Prioritize
Quality and Develop a Rating System
The development of an
independent Rating System based on a set of agreed criteria to assess the
standard of all institutions teaching law as a mechanism to ensure consistent
academic quality throughout the country.
3. Curriculum
Development
The development of
contemporary curriculum, which is integrated with other disciplines and also
ensures regular feedback from stakeholders. Autonomy may be granted to
universities, national law schools (NLSUs) and other law schools to decide the
core and optional courses to be offered.
4. Examination
System
Revising the prevailing
examination systems and suggest the development of evaluation methods that test
critical reasoning by encouraging essential analytical, writing and
communication skills. The end-semester examination should be problem-oriented,
combining theoretical and problem oriented approaches rather than merely test
memory. Project papers, project and subject viva, along with an end-semester
examination to be considered as pedagogic methods imperative for improving
quality.
5.
Measures to attract and retain talented faculty
To attract and retain talented faculty,
the Commission recommended better incentives, including improving remuneration
and service conditions
6. Developing a Research Tradition in law schools
and universities
The
Commission, has emphasized that the need for creating a tradition of research in law
schools and universities is imperative, if India has to transform itself from
being only a consumer of available legal knowledge to being a leading producer
in the world of new legal knowledge and ideas.
7.
Centers for Advanced Legal Studies and Research
(CALSAR)
The
Commission also stated that there is need to set up four autonomous, well
networked Centers for Advanced Legal Studies and Research (CALSAR), one in each
region, to carry out cutting edge research on various aspects of law and also
serve as a think-tank for advising the government in national and international
fora.
8. Financing
of legal education
It is for law schools
and universities to decide the level of fees but as a norm, fees should meet at
least 20% of the total expenditure in universities. This should be subject to
two conditions: first, needy students should be provided with a fee waiver plus
scholarships to meet their costs; second, universities should not be penalized
by the UGC for the resources raised from higher fees through matching
deductions from their grants-in aid.
9.
Dimensions of Internationalization
Building world class
law schools today will require creatively responding to the growing
international dimensions of legal education and of the legal profession, where
it is becoming increasingly necessary to incorporate international and
comparative perspectives, along with necessary understanding of domestic law.
Suggested initiatives to promote such international perspectives include
building collaborations and partnerships with noted foreign universities for
award of joint/dual degrees; finding ways of evolving transnational curricula
to be taught jointly by a global faculty through video conferencing and
internet modes; as well as creating international faculty, international
courses and international exchange opportunities among students.
10.
Technology for dissemination of Legal Knowledge
For maximum
dissemination of legal knowledge, the commission recommended that all information available in
the Indian Law Institute (“ILI”), Supreme Court Library, Indian Society for
International Law (“ISIL”) as well as those of all law schools, universities
and public institutions in the country, be networked and digitized. Such
networking is in addition to the need for adequate infrastructure such as
computers, law journals, legal databases and excellent libraries in the
institutions teaching law.
d) The Vision Statement 2010-2012 of the Bar Council of India, (June ,
2010)
The Vision Statement recognised the need to address various
issues as well as the
several different constituents of the
legal profession in India and identified some areas such as
1)
Inadequate quality of legal education
and infrastructure, and
2)
Lack of relevant skills training to meet
with the ever-changing demands of the modern world, as two of the issues
affecting the image of the legal profession in India.
One of the steps identified in the Vision Statement towards
resolving these issues is creating
clear quality standards for legal education and a common entry level standard
for entering law schools across the country. In furtherance of the objective of improving the standards of legal
education and the modernisation of the legal profession in the country stated
in the Vision Statement, the Bar Council of India intends to
implement a series of measures this year, which law schools across India must
put in place by the Academic Year 2011-2012.
As the thinks stands now, the issue as to passing the
All-India Bar Examination which is mandatory for commencement of practice as
advocate in court, has been challenged in writ petitions in nine High Courts,
including Madras, Bombay, Punjab and Haryana, and Gujarat and the matter came
up before the apex court during 1st week of August, 2010. The BCI said that all these
pending writ petitions involved the same/substantially the same question of law
and were pending adjudication. It would be in the interest of justice that the
petitions were transferred to the Supreme Court.
However, a three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India S.H.
Kapadia and Justices K.S. Radhakrishnan and Swatanter Kumar told the BCI
counsel that it would be desirable if the petitions were heard by one High
Court. Accordingly, the counsel said it would be better if the matter was heard
in the Delhi High Court.
While
dismissing the case[4] the Apex Court observed that a six-month waiting period to attain the
license to practice was not unreasonable and remarked "Let the legal reforms begin somewhere.
The
Bench issued a notice and directed the matter to be listed for further hearing.
SECOND GENERATION REFORMS- NATIONAL CONSULTATION
In
the National Consultation, various
issues relating to legal education was discussed, e.g., the objects of legal
education, the priorities in legal education reform, the roles and
responsibilities in this regard of the Government, Bar Council of India,
Universities and Management of Law Colleges; what makes a system of legal
education world class in competitive excellence and what is the agenda for
educationists, jurists, judges and advocates for directing the system towards
revival and rejuvenation; given the changes in the role of law-trained persons,
it was also examined how can legal
pedagogy teaching methods respond to the changing demands, assessed how far they fulfill the demands of
knowledge, skills, attitudes and ethics required for legally trained persons.
Due to unprecedented and fast changes in the society and economy, the law curriculum lags behind and is not sufficiently reflective of the knowledge and skills required of legally trained persons. Curriculum development is a continuing process for which teachers have the primary responsibility. The issues as to how does the curriculum reflect itself in syllabi and teaching plans will be the highlight of this Consultation for improving standard of legal education in the country.
In order to be able to effectively implement the reforms in legal education in India, law teaching must focus on developing students’ critical and analytical abilities through classroom exercises and training designed for the said purpose. In order to develop a framework to bring about these changes, it has been considered worth to examine the experiences of law teachers in other jurisdictions and to identify the scope for implementing effective teaching and training methods employed successfully elsewhere.
One of the neglected areas of legal education in the country is post-graduate studies in law and research. This has resulted in poor quality research output and dearth of quality law teachers to serve the ever-expanding legal education sector.
Professionalism
demands learning at work or learning by doing under professional supervision
and to keep abreast with professional developments. Most of the Law
Colleges/Law Schools at present are not adequately equipped for the tasks
involved. Recently, the Directorate of Legal Education, established by the Bar
Council of India, has the challenge to organize, supervise and deliver
continuing legal education to a million legal professionals, growing by ten per
cent every year. Taking lessons from the Bar of other developed countries, we
will consider the ways and means by which such partnership can be established,
and can be made functional to the advantage of practicing professionals as well
as of the Law Colleges/Law Schools.
The legal profession is not a business, rather a profession requiring certain standards and etiquette to be followed by its members The fundamental aim of legal ethics is to maintain the honour and dignity of the profession, to secure a spirit of friendly cooperation between the Bench and the Bar in the promotion of the highest standards of administration of justice. It includes standards of conduct both of the members of the profession and the judiciary. The Bar Council of India has laid down certain standards of conduct and etiquette of the members of the Bar. It will be discussed in this Consultation what it means to be a member of the legal profession and also re-evaluate the ethical standards with a view to enhancing the level of service provided by the legal profession to the community at large.
The role of law schools in social transformation, particularly, of the disadvantaged sections envisaged by the Indian Constitution will be another major highlight of this Consultation for purpose of inclusive growth. It will be examined how can law schools contribute towards law reform for the marginalized and discriminated sections of society and what is the role of law schools in legal aid services and administration of justice and also to make law schools partners in social transformation, social justice and inclusive development.
Students in the National Law Schools, upon graduation prefer to opt a career in major corporate law firms in contrast to a career in litigation or the Government. At the same time, the demand for corporate lawyers in light of India’s globalizing economy is increasing at a rapid pace. The issues for consideration in this Consultation are why do students from National Law Schools seem to prefer careers in corporate law firms; how can the legal education system cater to the emerging needs of the new economy. We will also examine how to organize training and education for alternate dispute resolution systems, especially arbitration.
A large number of legal education providers in India are privately administered law colleges. While National Law Schools and Government Law Colleges cater to the needs of a few in terms of legal education, the needs of the many are still met by the private sector. If legal education is to be improved, it is essential to maintain, monitor and promote standards in education throughout the range of legal education institutions in various parts of the country, including private law colleges. The quality of legal education provided in these institutions differs widely from institution to institution, and there is a need to ensure that certain minimum standards are maintained by all such law colleges, at the same time encouraging the best to compete with the State-funded institutions.
After
the consultations at 'National
Consultation for Second Generation Reforms in Legal Education' on May 1 and 2,
2010 at Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi Dr . M. Veerappa Moily presented Vision
statement for second Generation Reform in Legal Education. The vision statement
highlighted the following.
The
first generation of reforms established the National Law Schools and
demonstrated that India too can have institutions that impart an affordable and
world class legal education. The second generation of reforms shall focus on
the three pillars of Expansion, Inclusion
& Excellence. These reforms shall be an investment in the Indian lawyer
and in the Indian student of law.
Expansion
Expansion will focus on a multi disciplinary approach encouraged across
the board to enable more students to access affordable and quality legal
education. An efficient justice system plays a vital role in our economic
development ? reducing pendencies alone can add about 2% to our GDP ? and it is
our legal education system that will provide the manpower to fuel this required
efficiency.
1)
Establish four national level institutions at the regional level as
Centres of Excellence focussed on research and upgradation of faculty skills -
these may be called Institutes of Advanced Legal Studies & Research
2)
There will be a National Law University established in every state as a
school of excellence
3)
Each of the 913 existing law schools to be evaluated by an empowered
committee and classified as per standards and needs for the purpose of
upgrading such colleges and creating and providing opportunities to the
students
4)
PPP model for law schools with specialised focus to be encouraged
5)
Autonomous colleges that will meet demanding accreditation standards to
be encouraged
6)
Continuing learning centres to be established in collaboration with the
Bar Council's Directorate of Legal Education
Inclusion
Inclusion will focus on creating a system by which a first generation
lawyer from a backward and poverty stricken class can rub shoulders with the
best of the best at the national level:
1)
Establish a National Law Library that can also be accessed by all
citizens online. Law libraries will also be established in every district of
the country. The Ministry will establish an online legal e-learning network
where citizens can access lectures and classes on legal subjects in real-time
2)
To create an overall framework of inclusive participation in
opportunities, including internships in courts and like bodies for students and
legal professionals, so that there is upward mobility for every legal
professional to be able to access professional opportunities at the High Courts
and Supreme Court
3)
Scholarships and fellowships to be made available for women and students
from economically and socially weaker sections in order for them to access
various opportunities for a legal education and a professional career
Excellence
Excellence will focus on identifying and nurturing talent by providing
every opportunity to every individual wishing to be a student of law:
1)
An opportunity for students to specialize in various aspects of the law
during their education itself in order to create a pool of talent based on
domain expertise and core competence
2)
A continuous focus on social responsibility and a strong professional
ethic during every step of the educational process ? every practitioner should
have an unfailing commitment to the integrity and working of the legal system ?
reinvigorate the oversight mechanism for professional misconduct in order for
it to take swift action, including debarring those that violate professional
ethics and standards
3)
An online continuous career development and monitoring program to be
established founded on a national database of all legal practitioners in the
country. This will be a robust tracking
system by which talent can be identified and lauded. The database will track
domain expertise and professional development for lawyers and will publicly
recognize excellence as well as detect inefficiencies. This system will be the basis for identifying
lawyers for various roles and appointments including law officers and judges
4)
The Indian Law Institute to refocus on its core mission to promote
research in law as well as conduct post graduate specialist courses in various
fields of law by recruiting faculty of global standard
5)
The Delivery of Justice and Law Reform Trust of India in collaboration
with the bar, the bench and leading business schools in India will develop
courses for court administrators and managers
6)
We will develop a system to create a cadre of paralegals in various
sectors of legal practise who may then serve as legal secretaries and
strengthen legal aid and literacy programs
A comprehensive strategy that encapsulates both "Top to Bottom"
and "Bottom to Top" approaches will see lawyers at all levels
participating in continuing legal education programs. We will demonstrate that
the Indian legal and justice system is efficient, responsive, globally
competitive, quick and orderly with judges and lawyers who can rise up to
global challenges and the future needs of the country.
The
way forward
As early as 1917, when serious initiatives were taken to reform legal education at the Yale Law School, it was noted that the purpose of the law school should be “the study of law and its evolution—historically, comparatively, analytically, and critically—with the purpose of directing its development in the future, improving its administration and on perfecting its methods of legislation”.
The central question we need to ask ourselves in India is whether our law schools are fulfilling this responsibility adequately, and if not, what we need to do, so that we are able to address the fundamental issues concerning legal education that were raised nearly 90 years ago in the United States. Legal education reforms in India should go along with the encouragement of global philanthropic initiatives, so that resources are available to maintain international standards to impart quality education and conduct impact-oriented research.
Barring Foreign Law Firms from
practsing in India as was held in Lawyers collective v Bar council of India
and others[5]
by the Bombay High Court is not a solution, as the judgment will be having its own ramifications in the global
sphere for the legal practitioners from
India who want to take up legal practice outside India. It is now imminent for
the Central Government/ Bar Council to legislate and frame appropriate rules in
consultation with all the stake holders, with regard to entry of foreign law
firms in India and to arrive at a Judicious decision to put to rest the threat
being posed by the foreign law firms.
Instead
of wasting of time and energies whether legal education in India is to be
liberated from the dominant control of the Bar Councils or over superseding of
regulatory bodies (It is immaterial whether it is Law Ministry’s domain or HRD
Ministry’s) under a proposed super-regulatory authority as suggested by the
National Knowledge Commission and the Yashpal Committee, let us concentrate our
focus and energies to convert the new challenges in to opportunities in the
global arena.
Issues to be addressed to meet the Global challenges
1) Curriculum
and teaching
The new and emerging law schools
cannot afford to limit their focus to teaching and research on issues relating
to Indian law. In fact, the appetite of Indian law students for understanding
international and comparative law has significantly increased over the years,
given their participation in international moot competitions that range from
issues such as maritime law to humanitarian law to dispute resolution. The most
challenging task is to strike a proper balance to ensure that students are
taught a fair mix of courses that give them knowledge and training in Indian
law, but at the same time prepare them for facing the challenges of
globalisation, whereby domestic legal mechanisms interact with both international
and foreign legal systems. This interaction is going to deepen in the years to
come and our law schools must prepare themselves to face this challenge posed
by globalisation.
2)
Knowledge and faculty research
Hiring
of good faculty has been a challenge in law schools in India and abroad. There
is a need to have a global focus in hiring faculty for Indian law schools. Of
course, success will depend on the school’s ability to provide the right kind
of intellectual environment and financial and other incentives for Indian or
foreign scholars to teach and pursue research in India and to contribute to its
growth story.
Globalisation
of legal research has become a universal trend. Legal scholars working in a
particular country or researching on the law and legal systems of that country
do not limit their research to that country or its neighbours. With the
development of web-based research and other online research tools and
databases, there has been a remarkable transformation in the development of comparative
and international law research. It is important for global law schools to have
or provide access to legal material from jurisdictions all over the world.
These need to be constantly updated to keep up with the changing dimensions of
law in all societies. There is also a need to promote global exchanges,
including bilateral and multilateral exchange of faculty and students, with a
view to aid global knowledge relating to law and legal institutions. All this
needs huge resources. It is not possible for the governments of developing
countries, such as India, to support them through public funding. Concrete
steps need to be taken to encourage global philanthropic initiatives.
3) Programmes
and international experience
Indian
law schools need to consider innovation when it comes to the degree programmes
offered by them. Introduction of uniform
syllabi coupled with practical aspects such as moot courts etc. on par with the
international standards to meet the challenge of providing the highest quality
legal education in the demanding and competitive international environment of
the 21st century”.
4) Interaction
and collaborations
The
law schools of the future ought to provide academic space for engaging in
teaching and cutting edge research on issues of global significance. The
institutions ought to constantly reinvent themselves for facing the challenges
of globalisation through exchange and collaboration programmes. This has
different implications for faculty, students, and for the development of
teaching and research programmes. In this regard, it is important to note that
token arrangements of collaboration may not be helpful to the institutions
involved. There is a need to develop a shared understanding of the nature of
exchange and collaborative programmes being established for them to be
effective and beneficial for all the parties concerned.
5)
Philanthropy and non-profit initiatives
Legal
education in India needs reforms that would support the establishment of global
law schools combining the best traditions of public educational institutions
with the needed flexibility, freedom, and autonomy enjoyed by private
initiatives—all within the public good framework of a non-profit endeavour. In
this context, there is a need to actively seek and encourage philanthropic
initiatives in the field of legal education. The system of creating
endowments—both individual and corporate—has to be significantly promoted. For
this, the initiatives ought to come from private individuals and institutions
ready and willing to support the establishment of global educational
institutions with the highest standards in teaching and research for the
purpose of creating and disseminating knowledge.
Reform of legal education in India requires global philanthropic initiatives that can help the country build the educational institutions of the future. Such law schools in India will be able to attract the best of faculty from India and the world. They will also be able to create world class infrastructure to attract the best students from everywhere, create internationally reputed research centres and promote research activities that are beneficial to the country and the international community, and enhance the ability to bring together brilliant minds to solve the problems of humanity. The future of legal education in India should be linked to the promotion of global philanthropic initiatives for it to be sustainable. The deterioration in standards in the quality of faculty in law schools in India and the paucity of research output have to be addressed with sincerity. There is a need to create endowments of the kind that reputed law schools of the world have managed to do with a view to involve public-spirited private individuals and corporations to support the development of law schools.
6) Infrastructure
and resources in law schools
If Indian
law schools have to meet the demands of the changing global society, the
training we impart to our law students ought to be thoroughly re-examined. Our
law schools need infrastructure and resources comparable to global
universities, particularly when access to such universities is available to
both our faculty and students. Our law schools have to seek a dramatic
transformation in providing infrastructure and resources to our faculty and
students.
Library facilities in our law schools need to be substantially upgraded, for which huge resources have to be mobilised. The annual budget (including for library staff) for the law library at the Harvard Law School is $14 million (around ` 70 crore) and that of the Yale Law School is over $6 million (around ` 30 crore). Inevitably, the resources that are needed to reach international standards for providing global infrastructure for our law schools have to be raised through library endowments and private donations.
Though it may not be possible for us to improve
the situation and give overnight solutions in this regard, let us take the clue
from the statement of Dr. Radhakrishnan, the then President of India observed over
a half a century ago that “Our colleges of law do not
hold a place of high esteem either at home or abroad, nor has law become an
area of profound scholarship and enlightened research ” and introspect our selves whether there is any
change in our legal education system till then and put our collective wisdom and
efforts to bring in the required corrections in the existing system, so that
Indian legal education can face the global challenges and will achieve the
uphill task in re-writing this statement of
Dr. Radhakrishnan.
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Source:
1) 184th
Report of Law Commission of India (2002)
2)
The National Knowledge Commission recommendations
(2007)
3)
Vision statement
for second Generation Reform in Legal Education by Dr . M. Veerappa Moily,
Union Law Minister (May, 2010)
4)
The Vision
Statement 2010-2012 of the Bar Council of India, (June , 2010)
[1] State of Maharashtra v. Manubhai Pragji
Vashi, 1995 AIR SCW 3701
[2] Salem Advocates Bar Association v
Union of India; 2002 (8) SCALE 146
[3] V. Sudeer vs Bar Council of India; 1999 (3) SCC 176
[4] Bar Council of
India Vs Babubhai Vaghela & Ors (TP(C)No.697-702/2010) and Anoop
Prakash Awasthi & Ors Vs Bar Council
of India (WP (C)No.253/2010)
[5] Lawyers collective v Bar council of India and others; Writ
Petition No.1526 of 1995
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