Legal Education in India at the basic level is presently imparted by way of two models; 3 year LLB course and 5 year integrated BA.LLB. About fifty years ago legal education meant to produce graduates who would mostly join the bar; few may go to bench, and fewer into teaching of the subject. Post liberalization year 1991, legal education changed from traditional scope to multidimensional one 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 law subjects with international and multi-disciplinary emerged in legal education e.g. International Trade, Environment, cyber information, Education, Health, comparative law, conflict of laws, international human rights law, gender justice, space law, bio medical law, bio- ethics, international advocacy etc. Apart from bar and bench domain, there is increasing demand of law graduates in other fields like academics, corporate sector, taxation firms, regulatory bodies, business groups etc. There is also an enormous need for non-practicing law graduates in trade and commerce. Therefore, Legal Education needs to be reshaped and remodeled to orient and shape the tastes and inclinations of law graduates accordingly for those who practice law; who want to become researchers and teachers, the type which deals exclusively with academic subjects of substantive law, the type which deals with public legal education or Para legal education, the type which prepares law graduates to deal with legal, regulatory and ethical issues in active sectors of domestic and international business and industry, and finally, the type which professionals in engineering, medicine, management and social work may require. It is worthwhile to mention that introduction of integrated five year courses within University campuses has not only hampered the quality of University level education but has immensely hurt the prospects of postgraduate and research courses in the Universities. It has focused on money and quantity only. There was a time when a person would only dream of joining University, the highest seat of learning. A person would join the university at PG. Level or Research Level. Now the 12th pass outs intrudes into University campuses and all the decorum of highest seat of learning is thrown to dust by immaturity and fun displayed by such a lot. Their psychological behavior and mindset at such age remains non-receptive and non-acceptable for University atmosphere. With the result they consider campus as school. Therefore, Colleges, the midway connector to link and bridge the gap of school and university are best suited for such vent of expressions. The faculty meant for teaching PG. Courses and Ph.D. is often utilized for integrated courses which sans its own required and prescribed staff. Integrated five year law courses are no exception to it and have badly hampered the quality of legal education and research at the higher level. The law colleges are best platforms for integrated courses of law. The aim of Legal Education should be to create lawyers who are comfortable and skilled in dealing with the differing legal systems and at the same time remaining strong in one’s own national legal system.
The role allocated to BCI was limited to promote legal education and to lay down minimum standards necessary for those students who would ultimately enter the legal profession to practice in the courts. It is high time to restructure bar council and incorporate leading academicians of law in the membership of BCI and also widen the scope of council to look into multidimensional arenas of legal education and legal profession.
An immediate challenge is to improve the quality of legal education in a vast majority of law schools and law colleges in the country. But the prime question is how admission and intake capacity in the law course needs to be regulated by Universities and Law Colleges? How the standard of entrance tests for law courses needs to be set? How teaching law is to be supported by training in law? A significant focus should be on developing the curriculum so that it meets the contemporary demands for legal services, recruitment of competent and committed faculty, establishing Legal research and training centers, necessary financial support from the state, and creating necessary infrastructure. In our part of the world, Legal profession lacks division of labour and specialization. Most of the lawyers handle cases belonging to diverse fields. This overcrowding in the profession has, on the one hand, led to certain evils like touting which adversely affects the due administration of justice. On the other hand, overcrowding, absence of law-firms, lack of specialization, and an almost cut-throat competition scare the new entrants to face an initial starvation period for a number of years with an uncertain hope of eventually establishing themselves in the profession. This represents a painful contrast to the position in a country like the United States where young and bright law graduates can be absorbed by the law firms. Law students need to devote four to six months for complete and rigorous internship (court training). It may give them opportunities of discovering their relationship with senior lawyers, observing court environment, watching proceedings, undertaking case-study and reading judgments. More importantly the students may assess their self-interest in the profession and practical (procedural) understanding of law. The declaration of final result of degree of law shall be made subject to passing of such internship paper(s) to be framed by any in-service judicial officer or a senior practicing lawyer. Specialized practice in a particular area of law needs to be encouraged and adopted. This is the one of the major differences between lawyers working in Kashmir and outside where one can find a lawyer practicing only in a particular area of law. Lawyer with matrimonial cases would not like to take revenue cases. The one who works in civil litigation denies criminal cases. This reduces unhealthy cut-throat competition. Here we find budding lawyers struggling to ground their feet on particular area of law. The environment around them also caught them in web. Therefore, law firms with specialized areas need to be formed. Monthly stipend from the State Bar Councils for new entrants for a year at least may be one of the incentives which may keep budding breed motivated. Registration of lawyers and license checking mechanism in a very transparent manner to reduce unnecessary rush and touts in court is another measure which needs to be implemented. Seniors should encourage new entrants in the profession monetarily to keep their momentum going. Legal education as well as lawyering must be socially engaged. This means that legal education programs must compulsorily expose students to the problems of poverty, social exclusion, social change and environmental degradation through clinical legal education. Legal aid programs and through seminars and debates that sensitize and expose students to issues of social justice. Working with the poor through one or the other program must become a mandatory part of the curriculum. Faculty must include individuals with interdisciplinary training and direct experience on social issues. It is pertinent to mention that both legal education and legal practice is regulated by the Bar Council of India which is a statutory body established under the Advocates Act, 1961. The role allocated to BCI was limited to promote legal education and to lay down minimum standards necessary for those students who would ultimately enter the legal profession to practice in the courts. It is high time to restructure bar council and incorporate leading academicians of law in the membership of BCI and also widen the scope of council to look into multidimensional arenas of legal education and legal profession.
(The author is pursuing Ph.D at Law Department Kashmir University Srinagar. Views are his own)
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