This Issue - Icwai

LEGAL LEGAL EDUCATION
EDUCATION
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 were 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 postgraduate 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, it is
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 reevaluate
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 for 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
796 The Management Accountant |September 2011