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Explore the need for legal education reform in India and the impact of BCI's rules on fostering ethical values and democratic principles among law students.
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LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIA : An Introspection into the Bar Council of India Rules 2009 Prof. Dr. T.S.N.Sastry Head & Member, Management Council, Dept of Law University of Pune
Introduction • “Legal Education is essentially a multi-disciplined, multi-purpose education which can develop the human resources and idealism needed to strengthen the legal system ….A lawyer, a product of such education would be able to contribute to national development and social change in a much more constructive manner.”
Introduction • Chief Justice A.M.Ahmadi pointed out in one of his lecture, “I think we have waited long enough to repair the cracks of the Legal Education system of this country and it is high time that we rise from our arm chairs and start the repair work in right earnest.” • The above two statements clearly specify that there is an urgent need to reform the legal education in the country. This might have prompted the BCI to make an overhaul of the present education system in the Country.
Legal Education…Definition • Before examining the issues of Changes introduced by the BCI, it is necessary to through a glimpse upon what is Legal Education? And it nuances. • While the teaching of black letter legal-doctrines is an important function of the law institute (college/Department), it is not the only function.
Legal Education Defintion • What is needed beyond the teaching of doctrine and technique is a system of legal training devised to ‘aid’ the developing lawyer to acquire certain skills of thought, goal thinking and scientific thinking. • The student needs to clarify his moral values, social, goals, he needs to orient himself in past trends and future goals, he needs to acquire the scientific knowledge and skills necessary to implement objectives with in the context of contemporary trends.
Legal Education.. Tools required • The law institutes must provide a realistic and comprehensive picture of the structure and functions of society and will also be oriented towards the implementing of a consistent and explicit set of democratic values. He will not only be lawyer for the future but also be a social technician or social engineer
Legal Education • Legitimate aim of legal education is to seek to promote the major values of democratic society and to reduce the number of immoral things. • In a democratic society there cannot be a complete answer as to what constitute preferred values, unless some such values are chosen, carefully defined, explicitly made at the student’s focus of attention that automatically applies them to every conceivable practical and theoretical situation.
Legal Education..Tools required • All the talk of integrating law and social science, or of making law more effective instrument of social is twaddling futility- the only conceivable purpose for developing an interdisciplinary approach to legal education is to use the social sciences as a medium through which to immerse the law student in certain values which are deemed to representative of the values of democracy.
Legal Education: An over view • The fundamental difficulty is after all one of intellectual attitude and conception: the failure to attack legal problems functionally and its corollary, a static view of law. • Social and economic change might, in time, engender the necessary changes in legal thinking. • But a very long time would probably be required; legal education, by shaping the men and minds that will address themselves to the problems of law, offers the best hope of accelerating and consciously assisting the process.
Legal Education: An over view • The quality and style of Indian legal education that was prevailing for the last fifty years was unsatisfactory. • Obviously it did not attract first-class minds as students or as teachers. Facilities, including the all-important library, are poor and not properly maintained. • The Indian law teacher has to cope with a low salary and a heavy teaching load; fifteen to eighteen hours a week are normal for full-time lecturers.
Legal Education: An over view • Where as, if a good hard working student works for 5-7years in a High Court or other court or any other institution he earns a good handsome amount at the end of the month. • On the other hand these teach could not participate in different projects as an advisor to guide them legally. • Many law colleges have only a couple of full-time teachers; the rest are part-time(which tends to mean no-time except for the classroom hours).
Legal Education: An over view • The composition of the teaching staff is unfortunate in that it tends to stifle and discourage good, younger men. The faculty takes a pyramidical form, with a large base of non tenure lecturers, a smaller group of tenure readers (roughly associate professors), and one or two professors at the apex in the departments.
Legal Education: An over view • As a consequence, it is impossible to get at any one place a sufficiently large group of really energetic, talented teachers. Younger men of capacity who see no room at the top prefer to accept professorial status and related prerogatives elsewhere. • The relatively small supply of talent is thus spread far too widely, many younger scholars of capacity going to schools where they ultimately give up the struggle for scholarly achievement.
Legal Education: An over view • The pyramidical structure encourages intrigue and personal jealousies. It results in overloading the professor with administrative and committee duties. For these reasons, as well as others deriving from the position of law and the legal profession in society. • Indian legal education has to date had few outstanding scholars, teachers, or academic leaders. They are also not willing to lend a helping hand to others and mostly centered round with few people of their choice who meekly submit to the fashion or ideals of these talented teaches.
Legal Education: An over view • Most of the talented teachers doesn’t want any criticism on their functioning or style. No introspection is allowed. If any body tries to make an introspection, he will definitely shown the door to leave the profession or relegated to a secondary position. • This being the position, the society many a times loosing good scholars who are really interested to dedicate themselves will never see the light in their life and finally retire to their Cheshire homes and are forgotten quickly of their services.
Legal Education: An over view • 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 ” - - Dr. Radhakrishnan. • What was said nearly fifty years back by Radhakirshnan Committee on Educational Reforms, still remains as a depicting mirror in India in this 21st Century of borderless technology era.
Legal Education: An over view • In Manubhai Vashi Vs. State of Maharashtra the Supreme court too held that,…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 different situations. • Taking these aspects and the efforts by few scholars attracted the attention of the BCI to review the legal education in India.
Legal Education: An over view • Apart from the establishment of Legal Universities which attracted job oriented philosophy of the legal education, the National Knowledge Commission Committee on Legal Education made the BCI to further trim the Legal Education without looking into the realities that are prevailing in the Country. • This certainly upset the apple cart of Legal Education which led to litigation and many more problems.
Advocates ACT 1961 • According to the Act it has power only to recognise the legal institutions and to prescribe the norms for registration as an advocate to that extent to see the quality of legal education is maintained by an institution This means, whether the Bar Council is fully empowered to over see every aspect of legal education that is offered by an institution ? This is a most debatable issue which need to discussed at length?
BCI Reforms: some Observations • In view of the criticism that has come from various quarters, and from the National Knowledge Commission, UGC and other educational bodies Bar council took the initiative to reform the legal education. • Before going into the provision of the new rules let me briefly state the rules under the Advocates Act 1961.
BCI Reforms: some Observations • The fees for inspection, Recognition and Accreditation are too high. • The Inspection Committees are mainly filled with advocates and retired judges and not of academicians • The Directorate of Legal Education is going to filled with advocates and retired judges but not of academicians.
BCI Reforms: some Observations • When doctors are allowed to practice and teach in the Departments, why not law teachers. • When Professional courses got the exemption from NET/SLET why not Law teachers? • Before recognition whether the Bar council is seeing the sufficient funds, and salaries to teachers.
BCI Reforms: some Observations • What incentives are given for teachers working long hours for less salaries? • Why should it restrict Age of admission to course who would like to acquire Legal Knowledge? Again it changed its stance before the Bombay High court that those who want to acquire legal knowledge and not to practice it has not objection for admission.
BCI Reforms: some Observations • It has no control over Post Graduate and Research Education in India? • A lot of confusion with respect to papers and the syllabi? • How many papers that a person will study simply Law being a Socio-normative Science/ • Is there any concentration in any area?
BCI Reforms: some Observations • Legal Education better need to be controlled by National Legal Education Council which need to be set up by the Government of India as Advocated by the HRD Ministry. • Law teachers should be given few courses to teach and be allowed to practice. • The Government is aiming to provide Litigation free India by appointing a huge number of judges, why not the Law Professors be need to be considered?
BCI Reforms: some Observations • The Law College on side should provide facilities and on other side follow the norms of the Governments in fee concession for various sectors of people? • If private Institutions charge high fee it is capitation fee, whereas the National Law Schools established by Government charges high fee , it is quality of education? What a double standard criteria
CONCLUSION • Legal Education should be free from the clutches of Bar Council of India, it should be allowed to maintained by Academicians? • A Number of Law Teachers need to be appointed. • if teachers are not allowed to practice, they should be paid non-practicesing allowance to be provided like doctors.
CONCLUSION • If the Bar Council wants like that of its counter parts in America and others, it should conduct a Bar Examination . • Like some of the Western Countries, LL.M. should be made compulsory for Registration as an Advocate. • In such case the Present Legal Curriculum should be completely revamped.
CONCLUSION • Any reform need to be discussed country wide instead of discussing with few or with groups of people. • There is a need to have a National Debate each State Wise and to overhaul the system. • To many papers, to much curriculum and without having linkage to law and non-law offering pre-law papers is not of great use.
