Role of BCI in the legal education in India
Legal education in India is regulated by Bar council of India,a statutory body established under the section 4 of the Advocates act 1961. They stipulates the qualifications for the enrollment as an advocate, syllabus to be taught in the colleges accredited under them, rules regarding the admission in such institutions etc..They involves in the supervision of such institutions to check whether the functioning of such institutions are as per their guidelines or not. All law colleges in India should be approved by the bar council of India or else the students cant enroll as advocates after the completion of their course.
The State Bar Councils are statutory bodies established under Section 3 of the Advocates act 1961. These were set up as different councils for the states and union territories of India. The role of state bar council is to make rules for the enrollment in that particular state as an advocate following the guidelines of bar council of India. Bar council of India has a supervision in the state bar council and they can’t pass any rules without the approvation of the bar council of India. The role of bar council of India and state bar council are very significant in legal education in India. It is very important for the newly enrolled advocates to have the basic standards for the profession of advocacy and the role of bar council is do all the necessary steps for implementing it. Legal profession in India is very restricted. Indian law doesn’t allows foreign lawyers to practice in India. Those who have enrolled as per the standards of bar council of India can become advocate and practice law in India. India produces the largest number of law graduates and more than fifty institutions in India produces more than five thousand graduates per year.
It is very important to make our legal education in such a way that everyone who completes legal education gets theoretical and practical knowledge in the field of law. The demerit of current legal education is that it focuses only for acquiring theoretical knowledge but the practicial side is entirely different from the theories. The students have to do internships and understand the practical use of the sections that they have studied in their college. It’s the bar council’s duty to provide such facilities to all the students and make it as a prerequisite for the enrollment as an advocate. The scope of legal profession is not limited. The globalization has affected in every sector and especially in legal sector. Now world is like a market and people from all over the world interact each other for several purposes. Hence it is important to change the syllabus of legal education and make all the lawyers acquainted with international laws and give some exposure to it.
The bar council of India should take the initiative for that and make our legal education as per the international standards. This includes conducting researchs, seminars and training of academicians in the field of law. The reforms should be made in the qualification for the enrollment procedure of advocates too. India needs lawyers who are expertise in their field. Reforms should be taken place in every area including the BCI. Legal education is the pillar of the legal profession so it is very important to make many reforms.
KARTHIK NARAYANAN@LEXCLIQ
