Posted by Is Legal Education requires special attention in the present context?
Author: Akshay Kumar Sharma, LLB Student
Legal education in the India generally refers to the education of lawyers before entry into practice. Legal education in India is offered at different levels by the traditional universities and the specialised law universities and schools only after completion of an undergraduate degree or as an integrated degree. Law, legal education and development have become interrelated concepts in modern developing societies, which are struggling to develop into social welfare states and are seeking to ameliorate the socio-economic condition of the people by peaceful means.
The same is true in our country. It is crucial function of legal education to produce lawyers with a social vision in a developing country.
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 instill into the students the significance and relevance of democratic culture.
In the present age Legal Education in India is not satisfactory. It requires medical changes. The law in an instrument of change. It plays a very important role in the reconstruction of the society; our Constitution has given guarantee to its citizen’s social, economic and political justice.
The Directive Principles of State Policy as enshrined in the Constitution of India, attempt to transform society, social economic and political aspirations of the people have changed.
We are governed by Law; therefore, a change in the system of legal education has become inevitable. We in India still cherish and nourish that very education system which was established by Britons in India.
Judges, Lawyers and Law teachers could not change basic postulates of common law. They do not play any role in the formulation of policies, law colleges and universities perennially followed traditional path.
We want Jurists of eminence and judges of repute. Since law is one of the social sciences, therefore, the study of history politics, economics and sociology should be liked with the study of law.
It shall be having new vision to lawyers and Jurists; Language is the life of Law. The scientific knowledge of language is essential for every student of Law. Unfortunately our students know very little about the languages.
It is desirable that basic knowledge of the language should be imported to law students. The study of law along with social sciences and language shall improve legal education.
The examination system of our universities is defective. It is illusion. It is out dated and obsolete. It is hardly test or examination. Legal Education requires special attention in the present context. Law classes are overcrowded.
There is birth of law teachers, the Bar council of India could not properly regulates legal education. The resolution passed by bar council of India is not implemented. Law classes in our country have become index of unemployment.
Lectures delivered by teachers should be supported by important cases. The basic concept of law should be thought. Moot courts are very important for legal education. Standard and cheap books should be published by the proper authorities.
For the restriction on guess paper, immediate law is desirable. Admission in law classes should be according to standard of the student’s group discussion, seminars and tutorials are also useful for the proper understanding of law proper arrangements for the courts visits and practical training to the law student will be very helpful to the prospective lawyers.
A minimum court attendance should also be fixed along with their subjects of law students. A minimum financial assistance should also be provided by Bar Council of India to the poor as well as to the intelligent law students.
Legal education is an investment which, if wisely made, will produce most beneficial results for the nation and accelerate the pace of development. The legal education granted at the law schools should be streamlined to the conventional and contemporary needs of the legal profession. It is further recommended to the Bar Council of India to constitute a Commission at regular intervals to review the working of the law schools and to make proposals for reorganizing the syllabi of legal education. The quality of legal education has a direct impact on the prestige of the legal profession. We must, therefore, identify the areas of default and initiate corrective action to repair the damage. Unless a drastic surgery is undertaken without loss of time, the patient, that is legal education, will be fatally wounded and consequently the country’s justice delivery system will stand bereaved. All those connected with the maintenance of standards of legal education must, therefore, be prepared to take hard decisions to save the situation. A concerted action on the part of Bar, the Bench and the law teachers is called for to improve the deteriorating standard of legal education.
According to Justice A.M. Ahmadi, “Unless we face the bitter truth and come to grips with it, we cannot hope to improve the legal education system”. We have failed to attend to the cracks which have since widened and if we fail to take urgent remedial measures, posterity may not pardon us “However, any overnight solution in this regard is not possible. But, at the same time, any dogmatic adherence to the old, traditional and existing system would be suicidal in the days ahead. So, a balance should be maintained in order to change the entire fabric of legal education system in India, keeping in mind the necessity of globalization. Therefore, let us gear up and make sincere efforts for reforming the existing system, so that Indian legal education can face the global challenges.
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This Article was prepared or accomplished by Akshay Kumar Sharma in his personal capacity. The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the LawOF.in
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