Bar Council as a regulator has been assigned a distinct and significant role in legal education. Law colleges, legal practitioners and others connected with the profession, parliamentarians, and the citizen need to examine the performance of Bar Council so far and action, if any to be taken.

1. PRO ACTIVE & IMAGINATIVE ROLE OF
BAR COUNCIL IN LEGAL EDUCATION

2. Presentation
by
Maj Gen (Prof) Nilendra Kumar
Director
Amity Law School, Noida
and
Director General
Amity Directorate on Research and
Innovation in Law & Allied Areas

3. This presentation is concerned with the role of
Bar Council in Legal Education.
This would call for a comment on the standard
of legal education in India now?

4. Before we start that it would be interesting to
find out the state of legal education about a
century of fifty years back.

5. As commented by five great Indians all of whom
would continue to be remembered for their
contribution to India.

6. 1. Sir Asutosh Mookerjee.
2. M.K. Gandhi
3. M.C. Chagla
4. Nani Palkhivala
5. Fali S. Nariman

7. Sir Asutosh Mookerjee was associated with
Calcutta University since 1839.
His views on legal education as it then existed.

8. “The branch of our educational system which
stands in need of the most urgent and radical
reforms is that concerned with the teaching of
law for our Degree Examinations….As regards
the efficiency of these colleges, only one
opinion is possible, they are nowhere near the
marks and the arrangement made can, at the
best, be regarded

9. as nominal compliance with the Regulations
…..Proper continuity of work is hardly possible
under such circumstances. The majority of the
students have no books, they do not intend to
listen to the lectures…..Their only anxiety is to
get credit for attendance at a certain number of
lectures as required by the University
Regulations. Not one of the law classes can
consequently pretend to make any

10. approach to efficiency. No college has got a
good law library or a sufficient number of good
teachers. No effort is made to enforce discipline
among the students. Law students suffered from
lack of aim and ideal.”

11. Mahatma Gandhi had passed his examinations
and was called to the bar on the 10th of June,
1891.

12. Excerpts from “An Autobiography
I knew that Bar examinations did not require
much study…The curriculum of study was
easy…Everyone knew that the examinations had
practically no value….There were regular text
book prescribed…, but scarcely any one read
them….I had read the laws, but not learnt how
to practice law.

13. M.C. Chagla in ‘Roses in December’
I vividly remember the first day I entered the
High Court Bar Library and Common Room…I
wondered which solicitor would be so foolish as
to put a brief in my hands.

14. NANI PALKHIVALA
Nani was a bright student at the
law college. However, it would be
interesting to read his comments on
‘delay in disposal’, a malady for which one of the
underlying cause is poor quality of legal
education.

15. : 2 :
“Legal redress” is time consuming enough to
make infinity intelligible. A law suit once started
in India is nearest thing to eternal life ever seen
on this earth.”
Nani in “Forty Three Years of Independence”

16. Fali S. Nariman had joined the Government Law
College in 1948. His impressions of law studies
as recorded in his book ‘Before Memory Fades.’
One did not learn too much in law colleges
those days.

17. It may perhaps be remarked that when they all
studied law, the Advocates Act, 1961 was not
there. Consequently the Bar Council of India
was not there as a regulator and cannot be
apportioned blame.

18. However, for over five decades now, the BCI has
been at the driving seat.
This presentation is with regard to the role of
Bar Council in maintaining standards of legal
education.

19. DISPENSATION OF LEGAL EDUCATION
Statutory Base
Advocates Act, 1961
(25 of 1961)

20. Statement of Objects and Reasons
enumerated five main features of the Act
‘Legal education’ does not figure in any of the
five main features mentioned.

21. The text merely states that it had taken into
account the recommendations of the All India
Bar Committee, 1953 and the Law Commission
of India relating to legal education.

22. The Act lists out the role of the BCI and the Bar
Councils in the sphere of legal education.

23. Functions of Bar Council of India
Section 7
h) 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 Councils.
i) To recognise Universities whose degree in
law shall be a qualification for enrollment as
an advocate and for that purpose to visit and
inspect Universities or cause the State Bar
Councils to visit and inspect Universities in
accordance with such directions as it may
give in this behalf.

24. ic) To recognise on a reciprocal basis foreign
qualifications in law obtained outside India for
the purpose of admission as an advocate
under this Act.

25. COMMENTS
Despite the law makers having used the words
‘legal education’, the same is only viewed as
pertaining to law degree.
But does the term ‘legal education’ only relates
to law degree?

26. Bar Council has no role in teaching of LLM, Ph.D
and post doctoral, or in certificate or diploma
programmes.

27. Functions of State Bar Council
Section 6
gg)To visit and inspect Universities in accordance
with the directions given under clause (i) of
sub-section (1) of Section 7.

28. What about the outcome and follow up of the
visits and inspections?

29. LEGAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE
A standing committee of the BCI consisting of
ten members, of whom five shall be persons
elected by the Council from amongst its
members and five shall be persons co-opted by
the Council who are not members thereof.
Sec 10 (2)(6)

30. As such, academics and senior judges have been
associated with legal education. However, has
this mechanism succeeded?

31. The statutory function of the Bar Council are
therefore :
1. To promote legal education
2. To lay down its standards
3. To recognise Universities and to inspect
them.

32. Do these functions imply that the role of Bar
Councils would also extend to maintaining
standards.

33. Bar Council of India is viewed as a regulator of
legal education.

34. REGULATOR
A regulatory agency is a governmental body that
is created by a legislature to implement and
enforce specific laws.

35. It would be interesting to read the impression of
apex court in a neighbouring country on the role
of Bar Council in legal education.

36. “The quality of the Bar and the assistance it
renders to the courts to a great extent depends
on the legal education. The Bar on general and
the – Bar Council in particular therefore have
awesome responsibility to improve the quality
of legal education because it is the possession of
a degree of law which is a sufficient academic
qualification for entering the Bar.”
Pakistan Bar Council V The Federal Govt.;
2006 SCC online Pak SC 8

37. UNDISPUTED AUTHORITY ABOUT ROLE OF BCI
The BCI has been given the power and
jurisdiction to supervise the institutions which
impart training to the future lawyers.
Krishna Kumar G V UOI; AIR 1999 Ker 303

38. A Directorate of Legal Education is to be set up
and function under the Bar Council of India as
envisaged in Chapter IV of the Rules of Legal
Education, 2008.

39. The Directorate has been active at times but
mostly headless or inert.

40. The operation of such a Directorate could
perhaps be more transparent.

41. Bar Council of India Rules Part IV presently
govern the legal education dispensation.

42. The Bar Council of India Training Rules, 1995 as
amended upto 19 July 1998 have almost
become defunct.

43. The vision, action plan and mandate of the BCI is
now manifest from two documents.

44. The vision, action plan and mandate of the BCI is
now manifest from two documents.

45. Rules of Legal Education 2008
The 51 page document runs into six chapter and
has 13 schedules.
The rules are elaborate and concise.

46. Bar Council of India
Inspection Manual
2010

47. Detailed guidelines indicating the procedure of
inspection, benchmark standards for
infrastructure as well as sumary of the scheme
of programme, norms of administrative staff,
faculty requirements and hostel accommodation
etc.

48. Syllabus of law degree programme envisages
normal and honour streams.

49. 52 papers or subjects have been indicated for
integrated degree (honours programme)

50. OMISSIONS
Interpretation of statutes, legal method and
land laws are not included in the compulsory or
other papers.

51. Ironically, Legal Method has been shown as a
course for second semester in one of the
examples, cited on Page 29 of BCI Rules Part IV.

52. Specific areas where Bar Councils could play a
meaningful role.

53. Current syllabus has a bias towards urban and
metro areas.
Presence Absence
Company Law Laws concerning
Public Interest Water
Law Forest
Taxation Mines
Labour Law Land and its management
Industrial Law

54. A number of courses have little relevance for the
law professionals who practice in district or
mofussil courts.

55. SPECIALIZATION GROUPS
The syllabus prescribes seven groups
1. Constitutional Law Group
2. Business Law Group
3. International Trade Law
4. Crime & Criminology
5. International Law
6. Law & Agriculture
7. Intellectual Property Law

56. On most of the courses indicated against above
specialization groups, there is a complete void of
standard text books or study material.

57. Bar Council may wish to play a more active role
in getting the books prepared on various courses
prescribed by it under specialization baskets.

58. To illustrate, there were hardly any books to
help the students on Law, Poverty and
Development.
Till, the presenter came up with his book.

59. There is a need to expand the list of subjects so
as to introduce e.g. energy laws, IT laws,
consumer protection or environmental laws etc.

60. CLINICAL LEGAL EDUCATION
There was hardly any literature to guide the
students on how to go about internship, mock
trials, legal aid clinics and moots etc.

61. Till the publication of book

62. The Bar Council of India Training Rules, 1995 as
amended upto 19 July 1998 were struck down
by the Supreme Court in V Sudeer V BCI; AIR
1999 SC 1167. Sixteen years have since elapsed.
Perhaps, the Rules need to be recast.

63. INTERNSHIP
This is a component of paper No. 24 falling
under compulsory clinical courses (Paper No.
24). However, the contents could be made more
elaborate.

64. Internship
The BCI circular dated 11 September 2014 calls
for internship only during winter and summer
vacations. Such a policy calls for a review
because a number of courts and senior
advocates may not be functional during the
summer break.

65. The Rules expect minimum 20 weeks of
internship during the entire period of legal
studies. This is perhaps not adequate to acquire
practical exposure.
Hence, there is a case to revisit the policy

66. Seek help from greater number of law
practitioners.

67. OTHER SUGGESTIONS
Raise funds to provide sponsorship to law
colleges.

68. No. 1
Senior advocates may be requested to regularly
contribute one percent of their taxable income
to the cause of legal education.

69. No. 2
Prepare and circulate a list of advocates
available to devote time to law colleges.

70. No. 3
They may devote time to sit as judges for moots
and debates.

71. No. 4
BCI may wish to suggest new skills, latest case
laws and issues under legal debate.

72. No. 5
Point out diverse modes of academic delivery
suited for different courses.
They may be based on lecture mode or role
model, mock exercises, seminar, group exercises
etc.

73. No. 6
Legal aid clinics can be successfully held
under the presence and guidance of
experienced law practitioners.

74. No. 7
Advocates may be called upon to accept
invitation as visiting or adjunct faculty.
Also as guest speakers.

75. No. 8
Bar Council may seek help from law colleges to
organise continuing legal education.
Also for teachers training, advanced specialized
professional courses, research on professional
legal education and standardization and legal
research etc.

76. VENTURE OUT IN NEW AREAS
No. 9
1. Education of para legals is one area which is
yet to be introduced.
2. Training of notary public and deed writers.

77. In order to discharge its statutory obligation to
promote legal education and lay down its
standards, the Bar Council must regularly and
systematically interact with all stakeholders.

78. DIFFERENT STAKEHOLDERS
1. Bar
2. Bench
3. Students
4. Alumni
5. Law college management
6. Law offices & firms
7. UGC
8. Litigants
and many others like law makers and enforcers

79. Such interactions would help to ascertain what
are the expectations and suggestions concerning
delivery of legal education.

80. CONCLUSION
Purpose of Education
Education has been called the technique of
transmitting civilization. In order that it may
transmit civilization; it has to perform two major
functions; it must enlighten the understanding
and it must enrich the character.