TEACHING OF LEGAL LANGUAGE IN INDIAN LAW

SCHOOLS NEEDS URGENT ATTENTION

Abstract
The Indian Legal Education has come a long way in the last few decades, but it
still has room for improvement and to achieve this it requires to implement new
strategies.
IMPORTANCE OF LEGAL LANGUAGE
Language are basic legislative devices. Word is of great significance in the study of law;
cases rely on the definition ascribed to words by judges and advocate must find the correct
vocabulary to fulfil the needs of clientele. It is suggested that one should learn and keep their
vocabulary up to date while you are studying law, although in truth law as a subject is far
more interesting and hard as well and while it may seem near impossible to master it, there
are four factors you must consider and follow while learning the subject.

Firstly, and most importantly, you'll learn new words that you haven't ever used before. Such
verbs and expressions only have meaning as legal concepts.Words or sentences like as
executory value, demurrer, res judicata, and mens rea requirecollege students learning new
vocabulary words. It is necessary to know the meaning of those terms to grasp the correct
meaning.

Secondly, and much more complicated, as used in practice, some common terms assume
separate or new meanings. Like an example, when we use the word defamation law, “Malice
does not mean hatred or meanness; it means with reckless disregard for the truth". Similarly,
"consideration"There is little to do with interpretation of contract law; it means something of
worth offered by a contracting party. When a party is "prejudiced" by statute, this mostly
means that the party has been placed them as a disadvantage, not because the party is
prejudiced. Under real law, "Fixtures" is about more than just bathroom and kitchen
appliances.

Thirdly, words have significance varies, agreements or variance depend on the context or
location in which the term is used.In one situation (e.g. divorce), if she has lived there for six
months, a citizen may be considered a state resident. In another sense (obtaining a driver's
license) after only a few days an individual may be known as a "resident."Depending to what
is said and where it is said, the same word has a different meaning.

Fourthly, there are phrases that reflect specific legislative bodies or legal concepts that
function as short-term phrases for abstract meanings. Only a few examples are the words
"unfair competition," "due process of law," "foreseeable," and "cruel and unusual
punishment." Such terms have in certain cases definition has been the subject of over lengthy
stretches of time by judges and there is no chance of having a straightforward and succinct
description that can work in all circumstances.

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REVIEW OF LEGAL EDUCATION IN LAW SCHOOLS
Lawyers would need to learn to know new resources and competencies. “A well-administered
and proper legal education can therefore be said to be the only viable choice”:

“the two marks of a truly educated man are the capacity to think clearly and intellectual
curiosity which enables him to continue and intensify the process of learning even after he
has finished the law course” -by the famous jurist, Nani A. Palkivala

In India, questions pertaining to not only to the Indian current legal system taught and studied
but are still interested in this endeavour in many other areas of the world. The recruiting
faculty for Indian law schools needs to have a global orientation. Of course, progress must
rely on the willingness of the schools to provide Indian or international scholars with the right
kind of academic climate and financial and other opportunities to educate and conduct study
in India and to donate to its developingsection. Learning from examples in many countries
where video conferencing of lectures has tackled teachers and workers vacancies is
worthwhile.

CONTINUING LEGAL EDUATION

“Lawyers are always going to be students, because the learning doesn't stop inlaw school.
The irony is that when we become lawyers, we not only continue tobe students, we
simultaneously are teachers -by Michael S. Greco”.1

The study of law most certainly does not end with graduation from law school, but continues
throughouta lawyer's life. A significant percentage of lawyers identify crucial differences in
what is learned in law schools and the expertise they require in the workforce, so there is little
use of relevant technology to help narrow this void.Legal education has traditionally provided
no significant priority or publicity in India.After graduation, courses were taught in the law
departments of universities as three-year programs which led to the award of an LLB degree.
This mediocrity was challenged withestablish National Schools of Law,and it did succeed in
recruiting students to study law.2 In the early years when legal studies was being recognised
as an important course, most of the University's legal education vision was different.The
1
Justice Rajesh Bindal, ‘Legal Education – A Global Perspective, Global Speech’ (year)
<https://highcourtchd.gov.in/sub_pages/top_menu/about/events_files/GlobalSpeech.pdf> accessed on 9 May
2020
2
Bajpaimeghna, ‘Legal Education System in India’, (Legal Service India, June 2018)
<http://www.legalserviceindia.com/legal/article-199-legal-education-system-in-india.html> accessed on 9 May
2020

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recognized and apparent purpose of the education was the development of lower qualified
cadres who aspired to something better, he could go to England's Inns of Court, if one could
afford it, of course.3There is a recognised need worldwide that a continuum of continuing
legal education is necessary to ensuring a flourishing legal profession within a justice
system.Despite globalization has shown a huge impact on our lives and on the legal
profession, dedicated attorneys, lawyers and judges are especially in need of continuing legal
education.While the basic principle of continuing legal training and education programs
solves the fundamental questions of increased legal competence, it should, in particular, keep
lawyers aware of developments in global and international legal environments. Legal
practitioners continue to develop a greater understanding and knowledge of the encounters in
the world economy and the constant dynamics taking place in the modern day.

HOW TO IMPROVE LEGAL LEARNING AND ITS URGENT NEEDS

The Law Commission shared its concern in 1958 that barely 43 institutes were training law
students for the test. After this concern was voiced, the Advocates Act, 1961 was enacted and
there was growth in the number of institutes in legal education. Even though there was
growth but there was degrade in the quality of the education. The resources of these
newfound institutes were not up to the mark, some didn’t even consist of libraries to facilitate
the students for their studies. The admissions in these institutes was very easy as the
minimum marks for eligibility were set to 40% and a large number of students were eligible
according to this criterion. The faculty of the institutes were also not very noteworthy
because there were only part timers for faculty and not fully invested in the act of teaching
and this led to low quality of the teaching.

During the last three decades there have been many reforms in the education system. The
legal education had merely become a business and that was reformed in the case of Unni
Krishnan, J.P. v. State of A.P.4Supreme Court expressed its concern and firmly laid down that
"education cannot be allowed to be converted into commerce" and with the help of
continuous education and skill upgrades for faculty and institutes improved the conditions of
the education system. The current legal education system is many times improved and better
than where it started from but still it is far from being the best and there is room for
improvement. These improvements can be made i.e.Giving more attention to practicality, the
law is supreme; strength of character and confidence need to be met, and no hesitation. It
3
J.K, Bhavani, “Journal of the Indian Law Institute” [1962] pp. 167-190
4
Unni Krishnan, J.P. & Ors. v. State of Andhra Pradesh & Ors. Cited as: 1993 AIR 217, 1993

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demands great reading, thinking, and speaking skills. Those things can be included as regular
debates and discussions in the course. Moot court (mock practice) brings the skill and
demonstrates the mode of argumentation which is an essential quality of an attorney,
Collaboration with foreign law universities, Law is a subject that demands a growing
expansion of knowledge. Collaborating with foreign law schools to gain access to their law
reports, case laws; research papers etc. can increase this skill. Law colleges such as NLSIU
Bangalore, NALSAR Hyderabad, and NLU Delhi5, etc., have collaborated to teach, research,
and provide world-class legal education, and through these collaborations received positive
reaction, similarly there should be guest lecture by the leading members of the legal society
and also support for extracurricular activities.

This paper needs to be accepted as there is good flow of content with proper reasoning
and Emphasis on legal education as a whole

5
Rajiv Jayaram and Aditya Swarup, ‘Legal Education in India’ (Higher Education Review, 2018)
<https://www.thehighereducationreview.com/opinion/last-word/legal-education-in-india-fid-95.html> accessed
on 9 May 2020

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