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ROLE OF BAR COUNCILS AND UNIVERSITIES FOR

PROMOTING LEGAL EDUCATION IN INDIA

I Introduction

INDIA HAS an ancient lineage of law. It enjoys a sophisticated legal

system administered by an independent judiciary and a vigilant legal
profession. The development of a coherent legal system depends upon
qualitative legal education imparted through various legal institutions.
Every society has its contingent demands and needs to be fulfilled by an
instrument of law, which is a purposive human enterprise. Therefore,
quality legal education is to be imparted to the people taking into account
needs of the society with the changing times.
The legal system of a country is a part of its social system and
reflects the social, political, economic and cultural characteristics of
that society. It is, therefore, difficult to understand the legal system
outside the socio-cultural milieu, in which it operates.1 Legal education
in most countries and particularly in India has not received propeK
attention that natural sciences or other social sciences have been getting
As a result, the legal education has failed to develop the levels of
sophistication compared to other disciplines.
Legal education is a sine-qua-non for the development of rule of
law and a sustainable democratic order. Legal education has also to
cater to the institutional upbringing of a society based on law. Although
the immediate object of legal education is to produce a professional
lawyer, whose immediate concern is a profession based on law. But
eventually the lawyer should conceive himself as part of the constitutional
structure of a nation, for administration of justice, whose equipment
embraces the rules as well as the skills of the craft. The role of a lawyer
was thus emphasized by Justice Fortas as:2
A lawyer is not merely a craftsman, or even an artist. He has a
special role in our society. He is a professional especially
ordained to perform at the crisis time of the life of other people,

1 K C Jena, "Legal Education in 21st Century Problems and prospects",

AILTC (All India Law Teachers Congress, Faculty of law, University of Delhi) 51
(1999)
2 Jawahar Lai Kaul, "Preparing Lawyers for the New Millennium", Id at 335

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556 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LA W INSTITUTE [Vol 44 4

and almost daily, to make moral judgements of great sensitivity.

He is an important hand at the wheels of our economy and of
course as the custodian of the flaming world of individual and
personal liberty, as well as of the public order.
The legal profession in a modern democratic welfare state is a broad
and comprehensive concept. It includes not merely the profession which
is practiced in courts, but also covers law teaching, law research,
administration in different branches where law plays a role and in fact,
commercial and industrial employments and all other activities which
postulate and require the use of legal knowledge and skill and which
adopt legal processes also fall within its scope.3
In fact legal education in India is at crossroads. The common man
has no faith in the system of legal education. Uncontrolled growth of
law colleges, poor quality in teaching, poor organisation and management,
lack of continuing legal education, old and traditional methods,
stereotyped question papers lacking imagination, lack of infrastructure,
lack of adequate library facilities, poor attendance in the class, mass
copying in the examination, absence of practical training, lack of finances
are the major identifiable reasons for the present state of affairs in legal
education.
Now the time has come to set right the goals. Legal education in
India needs a thorough revamping and modernization. It should be able
to meet ever-growing demands of the society and should be thoroughly
equipped to cater to the complexities of different situations. There is
almost complete unanimity of opinion in the country that legal education
needs to be drastically altered and improved.
Legal education in India is imparted through LL.B. degree course.
Presently, for the degree course of LL.B., there are two independent
entry points. One after 10+2 that leads to a five-year course and the
other is after a graduate degree in arts, science or commerce that leads
to a three-year course. Legal education whether imparted through five-
year LL.B. degree course or through three-year LL.B. degree course
prepares law graduates with the three objectives:
(i) to join the legal profession as solicitors and lawyers with the
object of advising and practicing in law courts,
(ii) to seek employment either with government or private or public
sector and
(iii) to acquire higher academic qualification to be a law teacher or
eminent jurist.

3. G.B. Patil, "Legal Education in India: Few Suggestions for Consideration and
Experiments", Id. at 403.

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2002] ROLE OF BAR COUNCILS AND UNIVERSITIES 557

Thus legal education in India achieves professional as well as academic

objectives. The present paper intends to analyze different roles played
by the bar councils and the universities and suggest a few measures
concerning their roles for promoting legal education in the country.

II Role of bar councils and universities

The Bar Council of India as well as the universities have a duty to

lay down and improve the standards of legal education. Both the bodies
have different powers to play in respect of affiliation, inspection, teaching
and evaluation.
Bar Council of India, constituted under section 4 of the Advocates
Act, 1961, is an apex body for the entire legal profession in India.
Before the enactment of the Advocates Act, 1961, the universities were
prescribing their own subjects for the law examination, but now, they
are bound by the policy of the Bar Council of India, which might not
recognize a law degree if it is not in consonance with its policy. Section
7(i) of the Act provides that the function of the Bar Council of India is
to recognize universities whose degree in law shall be the qualification
for enrolment 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. Under
section 7(h) of the Act, one of the functions of the Bar Council of India
is to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education
in consultation with the universities of India imparting such education.
However, the domain of the Bar Council of India is confined only upto
LL.B. As a matter of fact legal education in India comes within the
jurisdiction of the Bar Council of India (BCI), University Grants
Commission (UGC) and the universities. While the Advocates Act,
1961 invests the BCI with wide ranging power to prescribe standards of
legal education for the practice of law; the UGC is also possessed of
statutory powers to co-ordinate standards of higher education including
law. In addition, each university has its own autonomy in matters which
vitally affect the improvement of legal education for example, size of
enrolment, the nature of examination system, policies concerning
affiliation of the college, the nature of planning for the development of
law, provision of law libraries etc. 4
The Bar Council of India and state bar councils have to discharge
their duties and responsibilities more religiously if they are serious about
reforms in legal education and also lay down standards in terms of

4. Meenu Paul, "Legal Profession - One of the Objectives of Legal Education

and the Role of Bar Councils in Legal Education in India in 21st Century", Id. at
312-313.

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558 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LA W INSTITUTE [Vol 44 4

classroom teaching, practical training and skills, court visits, moot courts,
legal aid work and other practical training programmes for law students.
The required reforms could not reach the field of legal education
because of the pressure of the part-time teachers, the Central Government
and state governments. The issue was discussed at different levels. One
committee was constituted under the chairmanship of Justice A.M.
Ahmadi, Judge of Supreme Court of India. The committee recommended
that:
(i) The legal education committee of the Bar Council of India
should be reconstituted in a manner that reflects participation
of representatives of judiciary, Bar Council of India and the
University Grants Commission.
(ii) The practice of granting provisional admission before affiliation
must be stopped.
(iii) High level committee should be set up to review affiliation
already granted.
(iv) There must be entrance examination at the admission stage of
law colleges and the university and the affiliated law colleges.
(v) The committee recommended for a 5-year law course
immediately after 10+2.
(vi) Rule 21 of the Bar Council Rules directing that every university
shall endeavour to supplement the lecture method with case
method, tutorial and other modern techniques of imparting legal
education must be amended in a mandatory form and it should
include problem method, moot courts, mock trials and other
aspects and make them compulsory.
(vii) Participation in moot court, mock trials and debates must be
made compulsory and marks awarded. Practical training in
drafting, pleadings, contracts etc. can be developed in the last
year of the study and the students' visits at various levels to
the courts must be made compulsory so as to provide exposure.
(viii)In each state, a National School type of college should be
established.
However, Mr. O.P. Sharma, the then Chairman of the Bar Council of
India has expressed that though the Bar Council of India is making
sincere efforts to improve the standard of legal education, the situation
has not changed much due to various factors which include lack of
coordination among the concerned authorities and absence of concerted
efforts. It is amazing that though the law ministers met-twice in the year
1955 and came heavily on this and also made a number of
recommendations for improvement in legal education, the BCI did not

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2002] ROLE OF BAR COUNCILS AND UNIVERSITIES 559

utter even a single word with respect to availability of funds to the legal
education despite the clear pronouncement of the apex court in the case
of State of Maharashtra v. Manubhai P. Vashi & Others,5 regarding
extension of grant-in-aid to law colleges on the same terms as are
applicable to other professional courses. There is need for improving
the status and service conditions of law teachers or academic lawyers.
The law teachers are required to devote full time in teaching. They must
also be provided with adequate facilities for research. No compromise
should be made with the high moral value of law teaching.
The BCI should periodically review adequacy and prospects of pre-
legal, legal and continuing legal education. The new curriculum
prescribed by the BCI has enlarged the scope of legal knowledge and
caters to the needs of both academic and practical aspects of legal
education. It must be enforced well by providing for the availability of
sufficient practicing advocates to teach the practical papers. Care should
be taken that under the new syllabus students do not acquire an over
stuffed feeding due to enormous curriculum or else, it will only produce
more information, more details and more cases within the time available
for law study without significantly expanding the students' genuine
insight or increasing the range of their academic and professional skills.
The emphasis should be on the creativity and intellectual discipline of
students rather than on the selection of particular subjects without any
reference to the way in which they are taught. The BCI must ensure
that all the law colleges are full-time professional colleges preferably
morning colleges to enable the students to attend the practical training
in the court after morning session of class room teaching. Bar council
should ensure that a coordinate post be created in the court for instructing
the students during practical training.
The legal education in 2 1 s t century should also consider the
globalisation and its implications on legal field at national and
international levels. The BCI should explore the new avenues in the
areas of computer applications and information technology in the legal
fields and potential uses of the Internet m the practice of law and legal
education. The BCI should also provide quality improvement programmes
for teachers. Legal education cannot be said to be entirely under the
control of bar councils. It is the universities who are responsible for
implementation of any scheme of legal education.
Since all law teaching is undertaken by the universities and colleges
affiliated to the universities and a recognized university law degree is
itself sufficient qualification for entry into the profession, a heavy duty
lies with the university to take appropriate steps to enhance the prestige
of the legal profession by ensuring high quality legal education.

5 AIR 1996 SC 1

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The important works have been entrusted to the university by the

BCI and its legal education committee (a) to teach (impart education)
according to syllabus (b) to conduct examination and to publish results
timely. But many universities have failed to do so. In Bihar, in most of
the universities, examinations are backlogged for two-three sessions.
The BCI should take special care in this regard. 0
The University Grants Cpmmission Act, 1956 is an Act of Parliament
which states that it shall be the general duty of the commission to take,
in consultation with the universities or other bodies concerned, all such
steps as it may think fit for promotion and coordination of university
education and for the determination and maintenance of standards of
teaching, examination and research in university and under section 12(d)
the UGC may recommend to any university, the measures necessary for
the improvement of the university education and advice the university
upon the action to be taken for the purpose of implementing such
recommendations. Section 12A (5) deals with the regulation of fee
charged by law colleges and the punishment for violation thereof by
disaffiliation. Under section 13, the UGC may, after consultation with
the university, cause an inspection to be made m such manner as may be
prescribed and by such person or persons as it may direct. Under
section 14, if any university grants affiliation in respect of any course of
study to any college in contravention of the provision of section 12A(5)
or fails within reasonable time to comply with any recommendation
made by the UGC under section 12 or 13 or contravenes the provision
of any rule made by the UGC under section 25(2)(f)(g) (i.e. submitting
information regarding finances and standards of teaching and examination
maintained therein and relating to inspection of universities) or of any
regulation made under section 26(e, f & g) (relating to qualifications of
teaching staff defining the minimum standards of instruction and.
regulating the maintenance of standards and the coordination of work or
facilities in universities), the commission may withhold from the
university the grants proposed to be made out of the fund of the
commission. Further, referring to the role of the UGC, the Supreme
Court said m Osmania University Teachers" case 7 "the UGC has
therefore greater role to play in shaping the academic life of the country.
It shall not falter or fail in its duty to maintain a high standard in the
universities".
Thus, a university should play a leading role in developing new
programmes, course curriculum, and training of teachers and for
monitoring the programme. Unfair means and malpractices are to be
stopped. The universities should adopt strict measures in this regard.

6. Ramadhar Singh, ''Prospects of Legal Education", supra note 1 at 267.

7. AIR 1987 SC 203.

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2002) ROLE OF BAR COUNCILS AND UNIVERSITIES 561

Programme based faculty should be developed. Visiting faculty from

universities and other academic institutions is to be involved for
maintaining high quality m legal education. Universities have to arrange
certain incentive prizes to the meritorious students in order to encourage
them

III Measures suggested

In the light of the above-discussed roles of the bar councils and

universities the author suggests a few measures for consideration to
have an organized, sound and improved system of legal education m
India for 21 s t century

(i) Entrance examination

The general tendency in the minds of students' parents is that

whosoever does not get admission in any other course, joins LL.B. The
law schools admit large number of students to LL.B. course. A large
majority of students joining LL.B. course are not serious. They are
either in some kind of a job or business or pursuing some other courses
as well. The mindset of the people has to be changed. 8 Therefore, legal
education requires a single national admission standard. 9 In the recent
past, the Bar Council of India has prescribed 45% marks criteria to take
entry to law college and through an entrance test if the student has less
than 45% but not less than 40% of marks. 10 Even though the Bar
Council of India has prescribed the entrance test for those who secure
below 45% but not less than 40%, most of the state governments have
not taken any steps to introduce the test. It is, therefore, submitted that
objective type multiple choice all India law entrance examinations at
central level and common entrance examinations at state levels should
be conducted through the joint efforts of the bar councils & the
universities to ensure uniformity and academic standards. Former Chief
Justice of India, Justice A M. Ahmadi has drawn the attention of legal
fraternity as well as of the Indian universities towards this problem He
has given a call to check the mushrooming growth of law graduates
suggesting the introduction of all India entrance test for aspiring
lawyers. 11

8 V K Ahuja "Adapting legal education to the tune of Globalisation", supra

note 1 at 330
9 Allan James Chay, "Legal Education in Australia in the 21st century" 38 JILI
450 (1996)
10 Lc(Cir) No 3/1997 dated 19th Sept 1997 of BCI, New Delhi
1 1 Inauguiating the 3-day All India Conference of Lawyers organized by Bar
Association of India, Justice Ahmadi made this suggestion on 18 1 1 94 See, 49
Um\ersit) News 18(1994)

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(ii) Attendance be made compulsory

As per rule 4 of Bar Council of India Rules (part IV), the students
shall be required to put in a minimum attendance of 66% of the lectures
on each of the subjects as also at the moot courts as practical training
course. This norm of compulsory attendance remains on paper and is
hardly enforced. All law colleges must be made full time colleges and
regular attendance must be ensured by making students accountable in
the form of internal assessment marks-consisting of orals, tutorials and
projects throughout the year. The students, who neither attend any classes
nor perform any assignments like project work, tutorials, moot courts
and practical training should not be allowed to fill-up forms for appearing
at the university examination. Accountability should be fixed on the
principals of law colleges in case the examination forms of these students
are forwarded to the university in order to make them eligible to appear
in the university examinations. Necessary guidelines in this regard should
be given both by bar councils and universities to all law colleges for its
strict implementation.
In order to compel the students to attend the classes regularly and
apply their minds in various legal problems, weekly assignments should
be given to them. The papers produced by the students in the said
assignments could be corrected and marks should be awarded. The said
marks should be taken into account at the time of final examination.
This would not only improve their performance, but also improve the
attendance in the classes. The bar council and the universities should
see that the above system is implemented during teaching.

(iii) Pedagogy of law teaching

The method of law teaching is the procedure through which the

aims of legal education are realized. For more than a century the methods
of pedagogy for legal education have been the subject of heated
discussion in conferences, seminars and legal writings. No particular
method could be singled out and recommended as the most suitable for
legal education. 12
The pedagogy of law teaching has also assumed the centre stage of
academic discussion as the law schools, in the backdrop of the BCI
recommendations, have imposed vital responsibility on the law teachers
of not only training lawyers and imparting professional skills but also to
act as role models and mentors. A law teacher in view of the BCI

12. V.R.C Knshnaiah & Rayadurgam Narayan, "Legal Education in India in

21st Century: Problems and Prospects", supra note 1 at 28.

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2002| ROLE OF BAR COUNCILS AND UNIVERSITIES 563

recommendations can no longer remain confined to teaching substantive

and procedural laws but has to share the extended responsibility of
imparting professional responsibility, and professional skills.
The Gajendragadkar Committee 13 of Delhi University in the early
60's recommended that it would be worthwhile if our teachers of law
attempted to combine both the lecture method and the case method in
accordance with the subjects they teach so that there could be a
harmonious combination of the two. As lecture is a method of exposition,
it is particularly used to motivate, to clarify, to review the students and
to expand the contents of law.
The case method is built upon certain premises. It consists of certain
principles or doctrines. The growth of common law is spread over
centuries. This growth is to be traced mainly through a series of cases.
Cases will enable the students to develop the power to analyse
complicated state of facts. By the study of cases the students can acquire
a habit of legal thought. Besides these two methods there are also problem
method, seminar reading, organizing workshops and arranging moot
courts and mock trials. Moot court mainly depends on arguments citing
authorities for both sides of the case while in the case of mock trials it
will also include presentation of evidence, covering examination of
witnesses. Each method is having its own advantages and therefore, it is
suggested that a combination of lecture method, the case method, the
problem method and the seminar method can be implemented in
accordance with the subject or branch of law and also taking into
consideration the available facilities. 14
To make the students motivated and understand the law properly the
orientation programme should be adopted in addition to traditional
classroom teaching. It should be carried out by the law colleges at
regular intervals of a period of 10-15 days each in which the law students
be made self reliant and autonomous in the matter of searching of legal
and other materials such as statutory material, case law or reports,
periodicals, law books etc. by giving a specific problem to assess the
performance.

(iv) Other methods of teaching

(a) Use of audio-visual techniques: Another interesting method

of teaching law is by using audio-visual techniques. The law schools
have to switch over to audio-visual teaching from the conventional black
board teaching, where students get bored listening to a teacher for about

13. Report of the Committee on the Re-organisation of Legal Education,

University of Delhi (1964).
14. Supra note 12 at 32.

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564 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 44 4

one hour. On the other hand, use of overhead projectors, slides, cassettes,
films on important cases etc, will definitely create interest in the students
because these devices have enormous communicative power. This has
been proved successful in other faculties such as science and
management.15 The bar councils and universities should ensure that all
law colleges switch over to audio-visual teaching from the traditional
black board teaching.
(b) Clinical legal education: Clinical legal education is another unique
method of imparting legal education. A law student needs training in a
variety of professional skills like oral advocacy, proficiency in
communication, effective interviewing, field research, negotiation,
mediation, counselling and the routine court procedure and other work
in a lawyer's chamber. Clinical education as a pedagogical technique
focuses on the learner and the process of learning. To know the living
law the student must observe the actual practical life where law must
work and be stated. Clinical work enables the law student to learn by
doing himself the practice of law including the techniques of interviews,
collection of facts, critical decision making, preparation of legal
documents, application of evidence, examination and cross examination
of witnesses in real life situations. It has great potentialities to transform
the dull and repetitive classroom lectures into challenging situations for
the creative spirit of young minds.16
As per new syllabus, the clinical legal education must be given a
concrete and definite shape well in advance, failing which all the
aspirations as to effective practical training will remain on paper. This
should be avoided by efficient and adequate enforcement of the objectives
through regular periodic inspections by the bar councils.17
(c) Use of computers & Internet facilities: With the advancement of
science, the methods of teaching have also tremendous scope for
renovation. One such is the use of computers. A student with a tip of
his finger now can go through any judgements without wasting time in
the library to search out the required material from the dusty racks.
While it saves time, at the same time it makes a student enthusiastic to
know more and more. Internet facility is also another device where a
student of law can have an access to the recent developments on any
law across the continents.18 Hence the BCI should issue directions to

15. Subhas P. Rathore, "Some Techniques of Teaching Law", supra note 1 at

392-393.
16. N.R. Madhav Menon, "Legal Aid & Legal Education: A Challenge and an
Opportunity", (All India Law Teachers Association, Delhi, 1972).
17. Sujata Pawar, "Legal Education in 21st Century: Problems and Prospects"
supra note 1 at 119.
18. Supra note 15 at 393.

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2002] ROLE OF BAR COUNCILS AND UNIVERSITIES 565

all law schools to have the facilities of using computers and the Internet
by law students. The UGC should also provide adequate funds for this.

(v) Up-to-date curriculum

Curriculum is the foundation stone on which students build their

future Therefore, it is an important task of the BCI and the universities
to plan curriculum for legal education with great care. In the words of
Cunningham "curriculum is a tool in the hands of the artist (the teacher)
to mould his material (the pupil) in accordance with his ideals in his
studio (the school)". In this sense the whole life of the school becomes
the curriculum, which can touch the life of the students at all points and
help in the evolution of a balanced personality
The BCI has revised the curriculum for both five- year and three-
year law courses. It is also strongly felt that even in the revised syllabus
subjects are required to be arranged in a particular manner both in five-
year and three- year courses, 1 e. which subjects should be taught in first
year, second year and third year. For example, m a three-year course the
procedural laws are taught in the last year i.e. in third year. When the
student of law enters into a law college he comes across the concept of
the words plaintiff, defendant, suit, appeal, writ petition, the concepts
that come in drafting and pleading only. Moreover, students who desire
to take part in the moot court right from the beginning need knowledge
of these procedural laws. Hence this could be possible if these subjects
would have been taught right from the first year So there must be
coordination of subjects to be taught to them i.e. substantive laws as
well as some procedural laws. The BCI should also consider the
separation of syllabus 1 e. separate syllabus to those students who want
to enter into practice and take up law as a profession and a separate
syllabus to the students who want to take the law only as additional
qualification/studies to help them in their department studies or
promotions. Bar councils and universities should also sponsor
scholarships to the talented students at state level and national level
which will have its own impact in creating intensive competition among
the students which would ultimately help in improving the legal
education.19

(vi) New pattern of examinations

Last, but not the least important stage in the process of imparting
legal education is the examination It tests the scholastic achievement of

19 Shnkant V Kenetkar "Legal Education", XXV (4) Ind Bai Re\ 90-91
(1998)

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566 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LA W INSTITUTE [Vol 44 4

the students in the field of legal education. The present system of

examination is inadequate, subjective and therefore not reliable. The
basic structure of the present examination system remains almost same
viz. the annual examination, external evaluation and stereotyped essay
type question papers lacking imagination. The entire effort of the student
is meant for the examination only but not for achieving the objectives
like knowledge, understanding, application of understanding and skills.
The legal education committee of the BCI consisting of
representatives of the judiciary, bar councils and the UGC should lay
down the norms for the conduct of these examinations. Norms are to be
fixed not only for maintaining the quality of questions that are set but
also for the marks to be awarded for the evaluation of the question
papers. To avoid leakage of question papers or even copying, instant
questions can be generated with the help of centres and question papers
presented through the national informatics centres at various places as
done in UPSC examination conducted countrywide.20
For overall evaluation of the students, the existing pattern of annual
examination should be supplemented by compulsory internal assessment
of the student during the year. The annual examination should carry 70
marks and the internal assessment should be for 30 marks calculated by
taking average of the "assessments throughout the year. This will help
reduce absenteeism and will prepare the students gradually both from
academic and practical point of view, instead of making them examination
oriented in their approach. The bar councils and the universities must
ensure that the law examination are conducted smoothly.

(vii) Providing better library facilities

The BCI under rule 21 has given direction that there shall be an
independent library in a law college which shall be adequately equipped
with law reports, books, periodicals and reference books to satisfy the
requirements. Every law college must subscribe different leading law
journals. The library shall be in the charge of a qualified librarian. The
colleges and the universities imparting legal education must adhere to
the above norms, since library is the core of any educational institution.
The law libraries are required to be computerized. The Internet facilities
should be available on computers. This will help researchers in finding
material without wasting time. This will also help teachers and students
to update their knowledge and complete research projects in time. So

20. Recommendations of Committee consisting of Justice A.M. Ahmadi, Judge,

Supreme Court of India, Justice M. Jagannadha Rao, Chief Justice, High Court of
Delhi and Justice B.N. Kripal, Chief Justice, High Court of Gujarat on "The reform
of legal education and entry into legal profession", October 17, 1998, supra note 1.

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20021 ROLE OF BAR COUNCILS AND UNIVERSITIES 567

the UGC should provide more grants for equipping the libraries of law
colleges and the universities.
The BCI must enforce the existing rules strictly and frame new
rules if necessary for providing better library facilities. On the pretext
of difficulties on funds, law colleges shall not be allowed to continue
the fraud on legal education that is now conveniently taking place
particularly in some states. The affiliating universities in these places
have to take the initiative in classifying law colleges under their control
as professional or academic depending on the needs of the area and the
resources the institutions would be able to mobilize. 21

IV Conclusion

The BCI, state bar councils, state governments, the UGC and
universities have a greater role to play for improving the standard of
legal education in the country. They should work in a comprehensive
manner without any conflict. They should think seriously to provide the
resources, both human and financial to all law schools for qualitative
legal education. The legal education in 21 s t century should also consider
the globalisation and it's implementations on legal field at national and
international levels. The BCI and the UGC, in the area of computer
applications and information technology in the legal fields, should explore
new avenues and potential uses of the Internet in the practice of law and
legal education. They should find out the ways and means to meet the
new challenges and provide better tools of research and methodology of
learning for the coming generations. University statutes, if necessary,
should be changed to bring all law colleges under a single law university.
In each state a National Law School type of institution should be
established. The area of deficiency should be located and correctives
should be affected with the cooperation of both bar councils and
universities. Needless to say that reputed and competent academicians
should be taken into confidence and their services availed of to set right
the matters. It is not only in the fitness of things but also the dire need
of the time to introduce a five-year law course in all recognized law
schools of the country. The measures suggested in this paper, if sincerely
implemented, could help in ushering a new era in quality legal education
in the country.
To sum up, our legal education system needs a lot of improvement
and reformation over its traditional methods in order to meet the needs
and demands of the present day society. In the period of globalization,
law cannot be seen in isolation. In the present day scenario of the

21. N.R. Madhav Menon, "Legal education for professional responsibility: An

appraisal of the new pattern" XIII Ind Bar Rev 295-306'( 1986).

www.ili.ac.in The Indian Law Institute

568 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN I AW INSTI rUII [Vol 44 4

world, events are moving fast and there should not be delay in reforms
of legal education. Now the time has come to realize how to prepare our
law students to cope with these rapid changes and also how to adapt our
legal system to new vistas with a view to fulfilling the justice promised
in the pieamble to the Constitution of India. In this context, the mutual
cooperation between the bar councils and the universities is quite
essential

Krushna Chandra Jena*

M A , LL M , Ph D Principal, G N M Law College (Utkal University)

www.ili.ac.in The Indian Law Institute