Introduction

“Education- is the manifestation of perfection already in man”- Swami Vivekananda.

The Law Commission of India defines legal education as a science which imparts to students
knowledge of certain principles and provisions of law to enable them to enter the legal
profession. Legal Education is the process which equips the future lawyer, judge,
administrator, counselor and legal scientists to know how legislative, executive, judicial
organs of the government, are designed and how they operates. Legal Education is a
technique, arena and platform for rational, orderly and non-violent settlement of disputes and
handling of conflicts.

The object of law is twofold, viz., primarily, it seeks to protect and guarantee the interests
and promote the welfare of the people and secondly, it seeks to administer justice according
to the rule of law or procedure established by law. The celebrated legal statement - “People's
good is the highest law” of the Roman lawyer Cicero best reflects the first objective.

“Future lawyers should be more aware that law is not a system of abstract logic, but the web
of arrangements, rooted in history but also in hopes, for promoting to a maximum the full use
of a nation's resources and talents”. - Justice Felix Frankfurter (In an address to the College
of the City of New York, September, 30, 1942).

We broadly understand globalisation as an ongoing process which entails the free movement
of capital, labour, goods and services across national borders. However, these parameters of
economic globalisation cannot be viewed in isolation from other aspects such as the free
exchange of ideas and practices. From this perspective, the legal systems in various countries
have a lot to learn from each other – both in terms of institutional design and the evolution of
substantive laws.

With increasing trade and investment across borders, there is an imperative need for all of us
to understand the functioning of international institutions. At the same time, our national
legal system must offer a balanced response to the rapidly changing socio-economic realities.
We must also bear in mind that in this age of the internet and frequent international travel,

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judges, lawyers, academicians and even law students from different countries have a lot of
opportunities to interact, collaborate and learn from each other’s experiences. Access to
foreign legal materials has become much easier on account of the development of
information and communication technology. Until a few years ago, subscriptions to foreign
law reports and law reviews were quite expensive and hence beyond the reach of most
judges, practitioners and educational institutions. However, the growth of the internet and
globalisation has radically changed the picture. The decisions of most Constitutional Courts
are uploaded on freely accessible websites.

Furthermore, electronic databases operated by prominent publishing houses have ensured

that judges, practitioners and law students all over the world can readily browse through
materials from several jurisdictions. Such easy access to international and comparative
materials has also been the key factor behind the emergence of internationally competitive
commercial law firms and Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) operations in India.

The present law has to deal with problems of diverse magnitudes and a student of law and an
Advocate has to be trained in Professional skills to meet the challenges of globalization and
universalisation of law. With the advent of multinationals in India as anywhere else, the task
of lawyers would be highly technical and an imperative need would arise to have competent
lawyers who would be trained in the right culture of Legal Education. This makes a sound
case for introducing reforms in Legal Education. Legal education should also prepare
lawyers to meet the new challenges of working in a globalized knowledge economy in which
the nature and organization of law and legal practice are undergoing a paradigm shift. A well
administered and socially relevant legal education is a sine qua non for a proper dispensation
of justice. Giving legal education a human face would create cultured law abiding citizens
who are able to serve as professionals and not merely as business men.

Education or awareness of laws, characterize the lawyers as 'Social engineers'. "….man is

inwardly a soul and a conscious power of the Divine and that the evolution of this real man
within is the right object of education and indeed of all human life." -Sri Aurobindo.

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Dichotomy between past and present Visions and Goals of legal education
For almost a century from 1857 to 1957 a stereotyped system of teaching compulsory
subjects under a straight lecture method and the two year course continued. The need for
upgrading legal education has been felt for long. Numerous committees were set up
periodically to consider and propose reforms in legal education. The University Education
Commission, was set up in 1948-49 and in the year 1949 the Bombay Legal Education
Committee was set up to promote legal education. The All India Bar Committee made certain
recommendations in 1951. In 1954, XIVth Report the Law Commission (Setalvad
Commission) of India discussed the status of legal education and recognized the need for
reform in the system of legal education. It depicted a very dismal picture of legal education.
It was only from 1958 that many universities switched over to three year law degree courses.
It was only by 1967, that it became onerous task for the three year law colleges to include
procedural subjects into the curriculum of their law school.

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Effect of globalization:
Development needed in India
Globalization has changed the dynamics of the entire polity and society. Currently the whole
world is acknowledging the importance of knowledge economy. Since the development of
knowledge economy, the establishment of educational institutions of global excellence along
with changed new curriculum of global standard ought to become the priority of the
developing countries like India. Globalization of the legal profession has introduced a sea
change in the entire fabric of law teaching and legal profession in India. So, some of the need
soft hehourare-

There is a need to develop an independent Rating System based on a set of agreed criteria to
assess the standard of all institutions teaching law as a mechanism to ensure consistent
academic quality throughout the country. Recognition could be either granted or withdrawn
on the basis of such ratings. The rating results should be reviewed annually, regularly
updated, monitored and made available in the public domain.

Curriculum development inter alia involves revisiting the distinction between

core/compulsory and optional courses, considering the need to expand the domain of optional
courses, rethinking the syllabus of individual courses, and developing innovative pedagogic
methods. The law curriculum for the future must provide an integrated knowledge of bio-
diversity, bio-technology, information and technology, environmental sciences, ocean and
marine sciences, public health and other related subjects. Then alone, the unmet legal needs
of different sections of society and the impact of globalisation can be addressed to and the
students will be equipped to contribute to the society when they leave the portals of their
alma mater. In order to do so, the institutions must be given a free hand in choosing the
subject so that the students are able to conduct research work in their respective fields. This
interweaving of law with the related issues of the contemporary world will add immense
value to the lawdegree.

The prevailing examination systems may be revised and evaluation methods be developed
that test critical reasoning by encouraging essential analytical, writing and communication

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skills. The examination should be problem-oriented, combining theoretical and problem
oriented approaches rather than merely test memory. Project papers, project and subject viva,
along with examination to be considered as pedagogic
methodsimperativeforimprovingquality.

Knowledge of a foreign language is important to be a lawyer in the global economy. Law

students should be provided with the opportunity to learn a foreign language of their choice.
Law students hence need to develop their ability to distinguish the relevant form the
irrelevant, screen evidence, and apply the law to the situation under scrutiny. They need to
maintain their complete integrity of character and need mental and physical stamina in order
to cope with the long hours, travelling and stress.

To attract and retain talented faculty, better incentives, including improving remuneration and
service conditions may be introduced. To foster quality and create better incentives, there is
also need to remove fetters on faculty that pertain to opportunities in legal practice (such as
consultancy assignments and legal practice in courts). As a further incentive, it is necessary
to create better opportunities for active involvement of academia in the shaping of national
legal education policy. Other incentives for faculty include fully paid sabbaticals; instituting
awards to honour reputed teachers and researchers at national and institutional levels;
flexibility to appoint law teachers without having an LL.M degree if the individual has
proven academic or professional credentials; faculty exchange programmes with leading
universities abroad and upgrading existing infrastructure.

Develop a critical outlook: Law teachers should switch over to what is called as 'comparative
method of teaching'. The law students should be mobilised to evaluate the existing or
prospective draconian laws, participate in discussions on the latest developments and
required amendments. Encourage Clinical training: 'Justice' must become central to the law
curriculum and community-based learning must give the desired value orientation in the
making of a lawyer. This concept of justice education in the field of legal education means
that the law school curriculum should entail certain programs like Lok Adalats, Legal Aid &
Legal Literacy, Para-legal training, Mock trials andMootcourtcompetitions.

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Creating a tradition of research in law schools and universities is imperative if India has to
transform itself from being only a consumer of available legal knowledge to being a leading
producer in the world of new legal knowledge and ideas. The following measures are
required to develop such a serious culture of research: emphasizing analytical writing skills
and research methodology as integral aspects of the LL.B programme; creating excellent
infrastructure (including research friendly library facilities, availability of computers and
internet; digitization of case law; access to latest journals and legal databases available
worldwide); rationalizing the teaching load to leave faculty members sufficient time for
research; granting sabbatical leave to faculty to undertake research; creating incentives if
research results in peer reviewed publications, either through additional increments (beyond
the UGC scheme) or in any other appropriate manner; institutionalizing periodic faculty
seminars; establishing quality peer-reviewed journals; prescribing research output as one of
the criteria for promotion; creating a database of citations to identify the most cited and
influential writings as well as considering such data for promotion purposes; establishing
prerequisites such as a mandatory dissertation in the LL.M programme, a pre-registration
presentation and a course in methodology for M.Phil and PhD programmes respectively.

It is for law schools and universities to decide the level of fees but as a norm, fees should
meet at least 20 per cent of the total expenditure in universities. This should be subject to two
conditions: first, needy students should be provided with a fee waiver plus scholarships to
meet their costs; second, universities should not be penalized by the UGC for the resources
raised from higher fees through matching deductions from their grants-in aid. The central and
state ministries may also be urged to endow chairs on specialized branches of law. State
financing can be complemented with endowments from the private sector, including
synergistic arrangements such as appropriate public private partnerships. Incentives such as
tax holidays for donations above a high minimum threshold by the corporate sector may be
considered. Institutions should be given the autonomy to evolve their own innovative
methods of financing to maximize infrastructureandresourceutilization.

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Building world class law schools today will require creatively responding to the growing
international dimensions of legal education and of the legal profession, where it is becoming
increasingly necessary to incorporate international and comparative perspectives, along with
necessary understanding of domestic law. Suggested initiatives to promote such international
perspectives include building collaborations and partnerships with noted foreign universities
for award of joint/dual degrees; finding ways of evolving transnational curricula to be taught
jointly by a global faculty through video conferencing and internet modes; as well as creating
international faculty, international courses and international exchange opportunities among
students.

For maximum dissemination of legal knowledge, all information available in the Indian Law
Institute (“ILI”), Supreme Court Library, Indian Society for International Law (“ISIL”) as
well as those of all law schools, universities and public institutions in the country, be
networked and digitized. Such networking is in addition to the need for adequate
infrastructure such as computers, law journals, legal databases and excellent
librariesintheinstitutionsteachinglaw.

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Constitutional recognition to legal education and its progress in India
The Constitution of India basically laid down the duty of imparting education on the states by
putting the matter pertaining to education in List II of the Seventh Schedule. But it now
forms part of List III, giving concurrent legislative powers to the Union and the States. Legal
profession along with the medical and other professions also falls under List III (Entry 26).
However, the Union is empowered to co-ordinate and determines standards in institutions for
higher education or research and scientific and technical institutions besides having exclusive
power, inter alia, pertaining to educational institutions of national importance, professional,
vocational or technical trainingandpromotionofspecialstudiesorresearch.

Empowered by the Constitution to legislate in respect of legal profession, Parliament enacted

the Advocates Act, 1961, which brought uniformity in the system of legal practitioners in the
form of Advocates and provided for setting up of the Bar Council of India and State Bar
Councils in the States. Under clause (h) of sub-sec (1) of Sec.7 of the Advocates Act, 1961
the Bar Council of India has power to fix a minimum academic standard as a pre-condition
for commencement of a studies in law . Under clause (i) of sub-sec (1) of Sec. 7, the Bar
Council of India is also empowered "to recognize Universities whose degree in law shall be
taken as a qualification for enrolment as an advocate and for that purpose to visit and inspect
Universities". The Act thus confers on the Bar Council power to prescribe standards of legal
education and recognition of law degreesforenrolmentofpersonsasAdvocates.

Changed Scenario of legal profession due to globalisation

About fifty years ago the concept was that the law schools are meant to produce graduates
who would mostly come to the bar, while a few may go into law teaching. The Advocates
Act, 1961 was enacted to achieve the said object, namely, to prescribe minimum standards
for entry into professional practice ‘in the courts’, as stated above. But during this period and
more particularly after liberalization in the year 1991, the entire concept of legal education
has changed.

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Today, legal education has 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 subjects with
international dimensions have come into legal education. With multibillion-dollar
investments in the growing economies, the business activities have grown manifold. This in
turn has created more opportunities for lawyers in general.

In the changed scenario, the additional roles envisaged are that of policy planner, business
advisor, negotiator among interest groups, expert in articulation and communication of ideas,
mediator, lobbyist, law reformer, etc. These roles demand specialised knowledge and skills
not ordinarily available in the existing profession. The five-year integrated programme of
legal education is a modest response to these challenges as perceived in the 1980s well
before the end of Cold War and advent of market-oriented globalisation. The lawyer of
tomorrow must be comfortable to interact with other professions on an equal footing and be
able to consume scientific and technical knowledge. In other words, along with social science
subjects, the law curriculum for the future must provide integrated knowledge of a whole
range of physical and natural science subjects on which legal policies are now being
formulated.

The image of a lawyer in society as well as the self-image of the profession is not what it
ought to have been given the diverse roles as stipulated above. It is here that the legal
education has to take its lesson on value addition. Justice must become central to the law
curriculum and community-based learning must give the desired value orientation in the
making of a lawyer. To give a recent example, one can say that the young law students who
went to the earthquake affected districts of Gujarat seeking to carry legal services to the
victims came back with impressions and experiences which would no doubt influence their
professional life and shape their approach to justice. The idea being canvassed here is that
professional education will have to be imbued with a spirit of social service and there is no
better way of inculcating it except to expose them while studying law to real life experiences
crying out for justice. The politics of legal education and the economics of legal practice
should be subjected to academic scrutiny if the profession has to be saved from the
practitioners themselves!

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on-fulfilmentofthegoal
It has been noticed that in the last fifteen years, ever since the NLSUs have been established,
meritorious students both from NLSUs and some other law schools are joining law firms and
corporate houses in greater numbers than those who opt for the bar and the subordinate
judiciary. One of the objects of establishing the NLSUs was to improve the quality of the bar
and the subordinate judiciary. While it cannot be disputed that such brilliant students are
necessary for leading law firms and corporate houses to meet the challenges of globalization,
we should not forget that unless these students are attracted to the bar, subordinate judiciary
and academia, the quality of legal services cannot be improved.

Domestic needs and needs of Globalization: Need for a new ‘Regulator’ with a
globalvision
The Law Commission in its 184th Report, (2002) has pointed out that there are revolutionary
changes which have come into legal education by reason of developments in information,
communication, transport technologies, intellectual property, corporate law, cyber law,
human rights, ADR, international business, comparative taxation laws, space laws,
environmental laws etc. and that “The very nature of law, legal institutions and law practice
are in the midst of a paradigm shift”.

Globalization does not merely mean addition or inclusion of new subjects in the curriculum
as stated above. While that is, no doubt, an important matter, the broader issue is to prepare
the legal profession to handle the challenges of globalization. Prof. David E Van Zandt of
North West University School of Law states in his article
‘GlobalizationstrategiesforLegalEducation’says:

“In terms of legal services, the changes have developed a standard set of practices that
lawyers use in dealing with the needs of significant business clients whose operations have
international scope. Whether a lawyer is working for multinational clients in Hongkong,
Frankfurt, London, Buenos Aires, or New York, the set of practices is largely the same. This
enables a skilled lawyer to move effortlessly around the world…….”

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In the light of the changed scenario in the last fifty years, the needs of globalization after
1991, and the gaps and deficiencies in the existing system as referred to above which have to
be filled up. It is clear that the BCI has neither the power under the Advocates Act, 1961 nor
the expertise to meet the new challenges both domestically and internationally. It is,
therefore, necessary to constitute a new regulatory mechanism with a vision both of social
and international goals, to deal with all aspects of legal education and to cater to the needs of
the present and the future. Such a mechanism will have to be vested with powers to deal with
all aspects of legal education.

# The directives of the new Regulatory Mechanism under the Independent Regulatory
Authority for Higher Education (IRAHE), vested with powers to deal with all aspects of legal
education and whose decisions are binding on the institutions teaching law and on the union
and state governments should be established and it must aim at revamping legal education to
meet the needs and challenges of all sections of society. This new regulator has to prevent
dilution of the minimum standards by any of the players. For example, it has been reported
recently that in some States, the Governments have passed orders reducing the minimum
marks to be obtained at the common entrance examination for law to 35% or even below
35% in some cases, only with a view to enable all law schools in that State, most of which
are substandard, to fill up all the remainingunfilledseats.

# There is, therefore, an urgent need to set up four centres for advanced legal studies and
research (CALSAR). Some of the tasks to be assigned to these advanced legal centres would
include cutting edge research on developing subjects and related areas, as well as serve as a
think-tank for advising the government in national and international forum. Some of the
specific functions and objectives of these centres would include the following: - Bringing out
a peer reviewed journal of international quality, institutionalizing arrangements for having
national and international scholars, establishing a network with other international law
research institutions to exchange information and access resources worldwide, and the
infrastructure should be of international standards.
In the era of globalization, the production of ideas has assumed a critical role – both for
social justice and for economic and technological advancement. This is as true in the domain

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of law. The ongoing liberalization process raises complex issues relating to the nature of legal
reforms necessary to ensure the development of all sections of the population. The need to
understand other legal traditions and cultures also require attention. If India has to fulfil its
promise of becoming a global power it is crucial that we invest in knowledge production and
dissemination as well as make provision for adequate research to address the range of issues
and questions involved.

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Conclusion
The legal Education and the profession have to care for the “invisible man”. The Advocates
have to become socially more relevant and technically very sound if he has to survive and
serve the needs of the society in the 21st Century.

Recently, the Supreme Court of India has observed in All India Judges Association vs. Union
of India that recruitment rules in the States should be amended to permit raw graduates from
the law schools to enter the subordinate judiciary. Obviously, this requires a high degree of
proficiency from the students who pass from the law schools. It should be our objective to
improve the standards of all the law schools to the standards required in the present age.
There is, in fact, an urgent need for a fresh probe into the quality of legal education in several
law schools and if it is revealed that the standards are poor, it may be necessary to direct
closure of such law schools.

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References:-

1. TheHindu,onlineeditionofMonday,Aug06,2007.

2. Seminar on Continuing Legal Education (CLE) for lawyers vis-à-vis global challenges
(Vishakhapatnam – December 6, 2009) Address by Hon’ble Mr. K.G.
Balakrishnan,ChiefJusticeofIndia.

3. Legal Education Reform in India: Dialogue Among Indian Law Teachers, by- Jane E.
Schukoske, University of Baltimore School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper
No.2009-27,September1,2009.

4. Global legal education in India: opportunities and challenges, Halsbury’s law,

April2009.
NKC was established in 2005 to recommend and undertake reforms in order to make
India Knowledge- based economy and society. This working group met in 2006 & 2007
and has submitted a report on 5th March 2007 to NKC.
http://knowledgecommission.gov.in/downloads/documents/NKC_Education.pdf

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