LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIA- REMOULD

OF AN HOUR

The law commission of India defines 1‘Legal education as a science which provides to
students knowledge of certain principles and provisions of law to enable them to enter the
legal profession’. Law, legal education and development have become inter-related concepts
in modern developing countries. The main function of the legal education is to produce
lawyers with social vision. However, in modern times legal education should not only
procreates lawyers, it should be regarded as a legal instrument for social design

According to Justice. Krishna Iyer, ‘Profession of law is a noble calling and the members of
the Legal profession occupy a very high status.’ Law is the foundation of every society and it
develops abiding citizens, lawyers, academicians and aspiring judges. Legal education in
India refers to education of lawyers before their entry into practice.

Historically speaking, legal education traces back to ancient period, where the kings and
princes were given teachings about dharma and nyaya. Then the concept of legal
representatives came into existence during Mughal period. Legal education was in existence
even before Indian independence as many of our freedom fighters are from legal background.
But it gained its significance only in post-independence period. Law courses are offered for a
term of three years in some traditional universities but it can be pursued only after getting a
degree.

Later, introduction of five years law courses and establishment of National Law University at
Bangalore have made legal education quite popular in twenty first century. At present, there
were about 21 national law universities in India and about 1200 law colleges including public
and private universities.

Legal education should not only produce lawyers but should be regarded as a legal instrument
for social design. The main aims of legal education are as follows:

• To train students for legal profession;

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 • To provide a centre where scholars might contribute to understanding of law and
participate in their growth and improvement and to point the right road for future
development.

Legal education is a broad concept. It includes the profession which is practiced in court of
law, law teaching, law research and administration in different branches where law plays a
pivotal role. It injects a sense of equality before law. The standard of bar and bench is the
reflection of the quality and standard of the legal education acquired at the law school.
Knowledge of law increases, if one understands the affairs of the state. The importance of
legal education cannot be over- emphasized in a democratic society. It is necessary duty of
everyone to know the law. Ignorance of law cannot be excused. Thus, legal education not
only produces efficient lawyers but also creates law abiding citizens with human values and
rights.

Private universities have played a significant role in exploring the changes in legal education
over the last decade. They engage in field of legal education and strive to improve the quality
of legal education in India. On the other hand, National Law Schools laid emphasis on
specialized learning. Many institutions have conferred altogether with the lecture method of
teaching and have instead opted more interactive and innovative methods of learning. Law
schools in India have a proliferating culture of moot courts which has made legal education
for more practical and behavioural than simply learning the letter of law. The significance on
co-curricular activities like Seminars, Workshops etc. have now become indivisible part of
the course. Internships during the period of study are now a mandatory requirement. On
campus recruitments become a common feature of most of law schools.

Today, Law is viewed not merely as an instrument of social control, but also as an instrument
of social change. Lawyers have been characterized as social engineers. As liberal education,
legal education may serve the society by imparting to law students general and cultural
education making them good law-abiding citizens. Such education will instil into the students
the significance and relevance of democratic culture.

As professional education, legal education equips law students for filling different roles in
society, and discharging various law jobs, the range and scope of which is always expanding
in the modern democratic society, e.g.—Policy makers, administrators, lawyers, law teachers,
etc. Accordingly, it is realized in modern India that the legal education ought to have breadth.
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Compared with science, technology and medicine, legal education is less technical or less
professional. Legal education in India had begun during the British period. Much before India
gained its Independence in 1947, law courses were started in the Hindu College, Calcutta,
Elphinstone College, and Bombay and at Madras.

The primary aim of legal education at the time was to equip law students so that they could
help the lower courts and the High Courts in the administration of justice. Before India gained
independence in 1947, the study of Law was not taken as a very serious exercise.
Consequently, when India gained independence,
“Its legal profession and legal teaching were thus not able to play the role they ought, by
Western standards, to have played.”
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With the dawn of independence in India in 1947, the whole scene concerning legal education
started undergoing a transformation. Perspectives about legal education started changing and
efforts began to be made for its improvement. The constitution of India is basically a
document for Lawyers; there has been a great increase in constitutional legislation since
1950, especially in the area of fundamental rights.

At present there is need to have reform in legal education because today legal education does
not fulfil the demands in society. Therefore, there is need to change pattern of centralized
body to deal with the body of legal education in the vast changing society; the complications
in socio-economic relation of people with each other have increased and this creates lot of
litigations; variety of new crimes generate need a novel situation; selfishness of people has
increased day by day and to fulfil greed of human nature deviant people try to exploit
common people.

Thus, there is needed to make the people aware about their rights and duties, as well as
remedies which are available to common people when they are exploited by someone. In
India, illiteracy is still not totally eliminated and poverty is the curse of Indian society and
because of lack of knowledge about legal aspect such helpless people are always exploited by
cruel and shrewd people.

In such a changing society there is need to improve the legal education and expand its scope,
with the concept of modernization it is time to enhance its boundaries. There is need to

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increase its ambit and for that, it is necessary that, legal education is not limited only to the
study of law and legislation, but to the study of various procedures of law.

It is not limited to or related to only private individuals, but its object covers the whole world
and in short, we can say that today there is need to expand the object of legal education to
make the society in fact every layman aware about law and its importance.

Legal education plays a vital role in law reform. Law reform means some reformation,
correction in existing legal system or enactments. When a set of rules or a set of principles is
enacted by the legislature or a specific principle is declared by the court, sometimes they are
not adequate for the society or are ineffective to control any social problem for which such
laws are implemented. In such situations Legal Research, Legal survey, etc. helps in
investigation for making new laws on any current issue or changing the existing law which is
not adequate for their proper implementation.

Legal education helps in changing the attitude of public; it enables people to think on social
problems; it makes people more aware about their rights to duties; it helps them to make the
ideal citizens to the concept of law reforms performed through only legal education and to
fulfil all purposes of legal education. One of the most important aspect is legal awareness and
it is possible only through legal literacy.

It is said that, India lives in villages and therefore to understand the relation of law with
society one has to concentrate on Indian villages. Most of the villagers are unaware about
their own fundamental rights, legal rights and remedies available to them and so they have no
knowledge of various legislations in force for them. There are number of legislations intended
to reduce socio-economic disparities and to bring about equality, but most of the people are
unaware about it. It is essential to make not only village people but also urban population,
unaware of their rights, aware that educated persons also sometimes get cheated by crafty
persons.

Many times educated people are also exploited by shopkeepers, etc. but they are unaware of
their rights given in Consumer Protection Act, etc. Women especially from villages are also
unaware of their rights which are especially enumerated for them by our Constitution and for
all these purposes legal awareness is very essential. Legal awareness is possible through legal
literacy, but in a country like ours where illiteracy is a curse and rampant in our society, how
is it possible to legally educate people who are illiterates. For this purpose, legal camps with
the help of audio, video instrument should be held in villages or legal literacy can be
enhanced with the help of media too.

There are also some major steps to improve legal education and one of the most important is
to increase the quality standard of law field. For that there should be more establishments of
law colleges. For effective legal education there is need for improvement in legal academic
education to maintain standard of legal education.

Legal education in India regulated by central and state government, Universities Grant
Commission, Bar Council of India and respective universities. For various reasons the quality
and standard of legal education is not satisfactory. Several attempts were made to reform
curriculum of legal education by the BCI.

A very significant development in the area of legal education took place when the bar council
of India was set up under the Advocates Act 1981. Under the act, the bar council enjoy very
significant function in relation to legal education. Under Sec. 7 of the Advocates Act, one of
the most important function of bar council of
India is ‘’ to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education in
consultation with the universities in India imparting such education and the state bar
council.’’

Today we first need judges of repute and eminence. Since law is one of the social sciences,
therefore the study of history, politics, economics and sociology should be linked with the
study of law which improves their knowledge and they can broaden their views from all the
aspects of human society.

For the improvement of legal education, it is also suggested to engage active social workers,
Sarvodaya workers who can easily interact with common people, and find out the deficiencies
in the enactment and the problems of implementation of any legislations and also make the
people aware about various legal remedies; the social workers eliminate the fear about legal
procedures and courts from the hearts of common people and for that purpose it is beneficial
to give legal training to social workers.

If all objectives of legal education have been achieved then it is possible to protect the
neglected and downtrodden poor and indigent against the onslaughts of the more powerful
and elite sections of society and provide them an opportunity of getting justice. No one is
exploited, everyone becomes aware of their own rights and duties and no one should be
deprived of his rights because of poverty and illiteracy.
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Today Indian legal education is struggling in comparison to its counterparts across the world,
which belies the tremendous potential that the Indian legal profession can unleash in the years
to come. While India continues down its path of growth, it is essential that Indian education is
reformed so that ultimately the Indian legal profession is strengthened to take on the
challenges of the 21st century. Further, Indian legal education cannot be value creating only
for “top of the pyramid” law graduates but must have stringent minimum standards so that it
is transformational for all law students, irrespective of the law school that they choose to
graduate from.

The two main problem which we are facing today are:

• Inadequate quality of legal education and infrastructure, and

The measures suggested here take into account the need to consider the overall situation of
the legal profession in India, as well as the particular needs and circumstances of law schools.
These are based on a study of the history of legal education in the country, and suggestions
for the reform of legal education made in the past by various committees, as well as
discussions with several professionals and academicians.

A uniform admission procedure for admission to all recognised law schools in the country is
proposed to ensure a minimum quality of students obtaining legal education, and to ensure
that the study of law is seen as a serious exercise, and the dignity of the legal profession is
sustained and enhanced.

In order to upgrade the skills of existing members of the faculty in law schools, BCI intends
to establish a national level advanced training institute for training teachers in specialised
fields so that novel methods of pedagogy can be implemented and importantly, a minimum
base level for teaching quality in legal education is established. ·

New technologies to be used in legal education. These would include not only measures such
as the use of presentations in the classroom, but would also embrace web-based technologies
that allow for collaboration and discussion amidst faculty and students across the country.

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This would also allow for the sharing of resources, and enabling access to resources for
students and faculty who may not otherwise be able to access them. Faculty would be
required to publish the syllabus they propose to follow, along with prescribed texts and
resources for students, so that there may be peer review and discussion on the same.