REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION:

SOME OBSERVATIONS ON REVISED LL.B, CURRICULUM

OF BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA*

I Introduction

LEGAL EDUCATION occupies a prominent place in a country where

there is rule of law. It equips students with necessary skills and
capabilities to understand the complex process of enactment,
enforcement and interpretation of law with a view to secure equitable
justice to all citizens irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or sex.
As the content and quality of legal eduction have a direct impact on the
legal profession, a sound and pragmatic legal education policy is a sine
qua non for its prestige and performance.
The concern to make legal education more modern and
contemporary and to make it socially relevant and humanistic for
the teacher and the taught has always guided the discourse on law
teaching and research in India. The concern has been articulated
in innumerable conferences, 1 seminars, 2 workshops, 3 meetings, 4

* This is the revised and enlarged version of the paper originally presented by the author
at the All India Law Teachers Congress on Legal Education in India in 21st Century: Problems
and Prospects held at the Faculty of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi on 22-25 Jan. 1999.
1. Prominent among these are: (1) the Thirteenth Conference of the All India Law Teacher
Association (Bombay Conference) (1973); (2) The All India Law Teachers Conference
(Ranchi Conference) (1978); (3) the Australia-India Legal conference, New Delhi (1996); and
(4) All India Law Teachers Congress (Delhi Conference) (1999).
2. Prominent among these are: (1) The Kasauli Seminar on Legal Education (1972) and
(2) The Pune International seminar on Indian Legal Education (1972).
3. Prominent among these are: (1) The Workshop on Clinical Education and Socio-Legal
Research held at University of Delhi, Delhi (31 December 1972 ); (2) The Dharwad Workshop
on Teaching of Jurisprudence (1973); (3) the UGC workshop on Legal Education held at
Madras University, Madras(20-23 December 1975); (4> The" UGC Regional Workshop on
Legal Education held at Punajab University, Chandigarh (12-14 March 1976); (5) The Third
UGC Regional workshop on Legal Education held at University of Poona, Pune (11-14
December 1976); (6) The UGC Regional Workshop on Legal Education held at University
of Patna, Patna (11-14 December 1976); (7) The UGC Workshop held at University of Delrn\
Delhi (3-4 January 1977).
4. Prominent among these are: (1) the Law Ministers (Working Group) Meeting organised
by the Ministry of Law, Justice and Company Affairs, Department of Legal Affairs, i\ew
Delhi held at Bhubaneshwar on 22-24 September 1995; (2) The Three Day All India consultative

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238 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 : 2

papers 5 and reports. 6 It would not, therefore, be an overstatement to

say that some major efforts at rearticulation of legal learning and
research in India have been made in the past. For instance, in the first
phase (roughly 1950-65), the principal endeavour was how best to
transform legal education away from the colonial heritage, and in a
way to Indianize it; in the second phase (roughly 1965-75), the
emphasis was on sound reorganisation of curricula and pedagogy
towards professional legal education; in the third phase (1976-88),
the focus shifted to 'modernisation' of law curricula so as to make
these increasingly relevant to the problems of society and state in
deeper throes of transition, 7 Significant structural reforms have also
been initiated in the past two and half decades. The law curriculum
has been extended to three years since 1967 all over the country;
admissions restricted to graduates to the three year LL.B. course; and
many universities have offered the new 10+2 plus 5 law curriculum
devised by the Bar Council of India. Although the Bar Council of
India (BCI) has been unable to implement them fully, it has articulated
major norms for full time teachers, building, library and infrastructure

Meeting of Bar Councils, Universities, UGC and State Governments Organised by the
National law School of India University, Bangalore on reforming Professional Legal Education
(12-14 October 1996); and (3) The Consultative Meeting of Experts on Teaching of Human
Rights and International Law organised by the Association of Indian Universities, New Delhi
(23-24 May 1998).
5. See for example: "Reforms in Legal Education" - Working Paper circulated at Law
Ministers (Working Group) Meeting, Bhubaneshwar (22-24 September 1995) and "Elements
of Socially Relevant Legal Education/' Paper circulated at the Australia-India Legal Conference,
New Delhi (26-27 October 1996).
6. Prominent among these are: (1) The Report of the Bombay Legal Education Reforms
Committee C1935); (2) The Report of the Bombay Legal Education Committee (Chagla
Committee) (1949); (3) The Report of the Rajasthan Legal Education Committee {1955); (4)
The Law Commission of India, Foruteenth Report on Reforms of Judicial Administration
(1958); (5) The Report of the Committee on Legal Education (All India Law Conference of
the Indian Law Institute) (1959); (6) The Report of the Inter University Board on Legal
Education (1961); (7) The Report of the Committee on Re-Organisation of Legal Education
(Gajendragadkar Committee) the University of Delhi (1964); (8) The Report of the Kerala
University State Commission (1964); (9) The Report of the Academic Council Committee on
the Teaching of Law (1965) Patna University; (10) The Report on the role of the legal
Profession in Asia (Kandy Conference) (1968); (11) Towards Socially Relevant Legal Education
- A Report of the University Grant Commission's Workshop on Modernisation of Legal
Education (1979), University Grants Commisstion; (12) S.K. Agrawala and Mohammed
Ghouse (eds.) (1981) Report on the Status of teaching and Research in the Discipline of Law,
University Grants Commission; and (13) The Report of the Committee on Reforms in Legal
Education and Regarding Entry Into Legal Profession (Ahmadi Committee) (1995) Bar
Council of India.
7. See, Report of the Curriculum Development Center (CDC) in Law (vol.l)(I990) at 2
University Grants Commission.

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1999] REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION 239

facilities for all law colleges etc. And above all, the National Law
School of India - a premier national institution imparting high quality
legal eduction - has been established at Pantalone in Karnataka state
under the auspices of the BCI. 8
Yet there is cause for dismay at the national level. The rate of
spread of innovative legal education is indeed tardy. The bulk of law
colleges suffer from lack of full time teachers, virtual absence of libraries,
staggering enrolments, absentee students, mass copying at examinations
and inadequate physical and financial resources. These colleges produce
the bulk of ■ certified lawyers who automatically become entitled to be
enrolled as legal practitioners under the Indian Advocates Act, 1961
(the Act). 9
The bulk of students pursue part-time studies in law, that is either
morning or evening classes for about three hours a day. Most of them
are employed. Of these employed, some come to law school to improve
their qualifications for in-service promotion, others come towards the
eve of superannuation hoping that a law degree will assist them later
during retirement. A few part-time students, who are eligible to appear
at competitive examinations under the Union Public Service
Commission, State Public Service Commissions, pursue law with the
expectation of an added advantage. Not all students who pursue a full-
time course in law as defined by the BCI (minimum instruction of four
and half-hours a day), however, give their exclusive attention to law
studies. Many are preoccupied with union and state competitive
examinations. However, the requirement that they should not be
employed demands the curriculum to ensure that they have to strive
harder. And it must also be emphasised that students who prefer full-
time to part-time course (minimum three hour instruction) where such
alternatives exist do include those with motivation to pursue legal
studies seriously. 10
It may also be appropriate to mention here that any attempt to
transform the landscape of legal eduction has to strive both against the
ideological and social realities which militate against full-time law
teaching. In the interim, at the very minimum, the situation of most law
colleges has to be reversed, together with the situation where law
students, all over the country, (pass and even excel) in law examinations
without continuous class participation, conscientious library/reading
habits and actively intelligent engagement with problems of law and

8. Id. at 3-4
9. Act No.25 of 1961.
10. Supra note 7, p 4.

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240 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 : 2

society. 11
As a matter of fact, the question of standard of legal education is
inextricably linked with that of multiple jurisdiction over legal education
planning. While the Act invests the BCI with wide ranging powers to
prescribe standards for the purposes of the practice of law, the University
Grants Commission (UGC) is also possessed of statutory powers to
coordinate standards of higher education, including the law. In addition,
each university has its own autonomy in matters which vitally affect
improvement of legal education, for example, the size of enrolement,
the nature of examination system, policies concerning affiliation of law
colleges, the nature of planning for the department of law and its
expansion, provision for library resource development, etc. 12
The BCI prescribes standards of legal education through its statutory
Legal Eduction Committee 13 and the UGC seeks to plan legal eduction
through its Panel in Law. 14 Keeping in view the above scenario, the
UGC as well as BCI have been endeavouring from time to time to
rationalise and improve the standards of post-graduate and graduate
level professional legal eduction respectively.15 In the present context,
we are concerned only about the graduate level legal education.
In this connection, it may be mentioned here that the BCI has
recently revised the curriculum for 3 year and 5 year law courses and
has directed the universities and law colleges throughout the country
that the new curriculum be implement' from the academic year 1998-
99. However, the new curriculum has evoked mixed response form the
various law faculties and legal luminaries in the country. While many
scholars and law teachers have lauded it, others /have dubbed it as a top
heavy" 16 and "doubtful of being effectively implementable" 17 in the
context of existing realities of legal eduction. The object of the present

11. Id. of 6.
12. Id. at 7.
13. The Legal Education Committee of the Bar council of India includes five elected
members of the bar and five co-opted persons.
14. The UGC Panel in Law is usually chaired by a retired Supreme Court judge with a
membership of about twelve scholars from various parts of India.
15. For details, see (1) The Report of the UGC Workshop on Post-Graduate Legal
Education and the CDC Report (1996) National law School of India University; (2) The
Report of the All India Consultative Meeting of Bar councils, Universities, UGC and State
Governments of Reforming Professional Legal Education (1996), National Law School of
India University; (3) the Report of the UGC Workshop on Post-Graduate Education in Law
(1997) University of Gorakhpur.
16. See A.K. Koul '* Legal Education in India in 21st Century: Problems and Prospects,
in All India Law Teachers Congress Souvenir, Faculty of Law, University of Delhi.
17. Id.

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1999] REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION 241

paper is to critically examine this new curriculum and to offer a few

suggestions to further improve it. The paper also highlights some of the
other developments which have taken place in the country since 1985
and are concerned directly with the reforms in professional legal
eduction.

II A Brief Overview of Earlier Attempts

(1) Establishment of the National Law School at Bangalore (1986)
As far as the reforms in professional legal education are concerned,
the Bar Council of India had done a commendable job in establishing
a National Law School with deemed university status at Bangalore. It
has been well recognised as model institution for the professional
eduction, pioneering reforms in the curriculum development, pedagogic
method and clinical education. 18 As a matter of fact, the concept of
national institution to act as a "pace-setter and a testing ground for bold
experiments in legal education" came up before the BCI in the context
of the Councils' statutory responsibility for maintaining standards in
professional legal eduction under the Act. The idea gained strength in
the Legal Education Committee of the BCI and the BCI demanded a
'Deemed University' status from the UGC. Ultimately, after thirteen
long years of gestation, the National Law School of India University
(NLSIU) was established under the National Law School of India Act,
1986.19 Outside the administration of justice, the NLSIU is perhaps the
best example of Academy-Bar-Bench co-operation in the field of law
in India today. The Chief Justice of India as Visitor of the NLSIU and
the Chairman of the Bar Council of India as Chairman of the General
Council of the School provide a stature and prestige to the School
unparalleled in the history of legal education in the country. A large
number of retired judges of the Supreme Court of India and High
Courts as well as senior advocates assist the NLSIU in its teaching and
research programmes making legal education at NLSIU a rare and
exciting experience for the law students. 20
The Law School offers Five Years integrated B.A., LL.B. (Hons.)
course besides offering LL.M., J.S.D., M.Phil., LL.D., Ph.D. and M.B.L.
courses. An integrated curriculum encompassing knowledge of social
science subjects along with the diverse legal subjects has been adopted
at the Law School. Education at NLSIU is, therefore, a holistic approach
towards developing the required professional skills namely analytical

18. N.N. Mathur " Legal Education And Bar Council" in Indian Bar Review (1997).
19. The Karnataka Act 22 of 1986.
20. National Law School of India University, NLSIU Bulletin 22 (1998).

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242 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 : 2

ability, research orientation, legal writing, argumentative capability,

and the skills of decision making.21
Impressed with the performance of the National Law School, the
Judges Committee as well as Law Ministers Conference have
recommended that in each state, a Law School on the model of National
Law School should be established. As per the Report of the International
Expert Committee which evaluated the functioning of the NLSIU during
1987-96, the NLSIU had "fully met the objectives of being a centre of
excellence and a testing ground for bold experiments." 22 The Report
further mentions that the NLSIU was "in danger of becoming a victim
of its own success" as it had "stimulated expectations, demands and
requests that could not possibly be met by a single institution." 23
Further, according to the Expert Committee Report, the NLSIU had
been so successful that "proposals have been made for the development
of Model Law Schools in other parts of India". 24 The Report ends up
with a suggestion that "NLSIU should encourage and assist such
developments and treat these new institutions as partners rather than
rivals within the national system of legal education." 25
Justice J.S. Verma, the former Chief Justice of India, while delivering
the Justice Shankar Prasad Bhargava Memorial Lecture at Ujjain had
made the following observations about the performance of the Bangalore
Law School:
There is in recent times the realisation that the deficiency in
legal education needs to be cured and regulation of entry into
the Bar also called for to ensure that only persons well equipped
to properly discharge the role of lawyers gain entry into it. One
such step in contemplation is to have Law Colleges which
impart legal education on the lines of other professional courses
to exclude indifferent persons gaining entry and make graduation
in law as a course of serious study. The National Law School at
Bangalore, is the first step in that direction, has already achieved
success. The idea of each state having a Law School on the
same pattern has already been mooted.26
There is no denying the fact that within a very short period of its
existence, the National Law School of India has made a significant

21. Id. at 22-23.

22. Id. at ii.
23. Ibid.
24. Ibid.
25.Ibid.
26. J.S. Verrna quoted in N.N, Mathur, Supra note 18, at 9-10.

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contribution to the existing system of legal education and legal profession

by way of producing intelligent, articulate and professionally sound
and competent legal professionals on the one hand and by way of
training a large number of lawyers, law teachers, judges and jurists so
as to enable them to meet the future opportunities and challenges likely
to be thrown by the new millenium.

(2) Report of the Curriculum Development Centre in law (1990)

The Curriculum Development Centres Programme was taken up by
the (UGC) in order to promote excellence in teaching at under-graduate
and post-graduate levels. Although all the universities had been and
are even now continuously doing this exercise through their academic
bodies, this one was an exercise at the national level through many
experts drawn from all over the country. These centres undertook the
task of developing and modernising the curricula and courses and their
reports were later discussed by the expert group.
The Curriculum Development Center in Law was instituted at the
University of Delhi in 1986. Its membership was so structured as to
represent diverse levels, trends, experience, and outlooks on
development and future of the graduate and post-graduate legal
education in India. It may be interesting to note that the Centre worked
with a single Committee, both for graduate and post-graduate legal
eduction in India.27 The Committee proposed 32 papers for LL.B. and
26 for LL.B. Hons. The list of all these papers is annexed at the end of
the present paper and is marked as Annexture I.

(3) All India consultative meeting of Bar Councils, Universities,

University Grants Commission and State Governments at
Bangalore on reforming professional legal education (October
1996)
A three day All India Consultative Meeting of Bar Councils,
Universities, UGC and State Governments was organised by the National

27. Following were the members of the Committee: (1) Upendra Baxi, Professor of Law,
Delhi University and Coordinator, Curriculum Development Center in Law; (2) Professor
Virendra Kumar, Panjab University, Chandigarh; (3) Professor P. Leelakrishnan, Head,
Department of Law Cochin University, Cochin; (4) Professor R.K. Mishra, Banaras Hindu
University; (5) Professor P. Koteshwar Rao, Head, P.G. Department of Law, S.V. University,
Tirupathi; (6) Professor S.P. Sathe, Principal 1LS Law College, Pune; (7) D.N. Saraf, retired
Professor of Law, University of Jammu; (8) Lotika Sarkar, Retired Professor of Law, Delhi
University; (9) Professor B.M. Shukla, Director P.G. Law School, Gujarat University,
Ahmedabad;(10) Professor B. Sivaramayya, Delhi University; and(l 1) Professor Chhatrapati
Singh, Indian Law Institute.

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244 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 : 2

Law School, Bangalore on Reforming Professional Legal Eduction.

Among others, the meeting identified and discussed the following two
main issues: (1) Whether there should be a uniform law course for
professional legal education, and (2) How many subjects must be
taught in the LL.B, course and how many of them on a compulsory
basis and how many of them could be offered as optional papers. The
members in the meeting unanimously accepted that there should be a
uniform syllabus for law courses throughout the country, subsequently
they focussed on the list of subjects necessary to be imparted to a legal
professional for the future. The meeting accordingly identified 24
subjects to be taught on a compulsory basis and another 6 optional
subjects which may suitably be chosen by universities according to
local needs and its professional relevance. The list of the compulsory
as well as of the optional subjects is annexed at the end of the pesent
paper and is marked as Annexture II.

(4) National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (1998)

Very recently, a National Academy of Legal Studies and Research
(NALSAR) has been established at Haderabad. While inaugurating the
National Academy, the Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Mr. Chandrababu
Naidu observed that " a sound and competent justice delivery system
depended on its inputs which included excellent legal education to
provide the finest legal knowledge." 28 In an informal discussion with
the author, the then Director Designate of the National Academy
Professor Ranbir Singh informed that the Academy would start Five
Years Integrated Course in Law in the first instance. In another few
years, the Academy also aims to start the programme of continuing
legal education for judges, lawyers, law teachers and researchers. It is
earnestly hoped that like the NLSIU, Bangalore, the NALSAR at
Hyderabad would become one of the foremost institutions in the country
and shall be earnestly engaged in imparting quality legal education,
both professional as well as continuing one.

Ill Revised LL.B. curriculum (1997)

The BCI, in exercise of the powers vested under sections 7(h) and
(j), 24(l)(c)(iii) and (iiia) and 49(l)(af), (ag) and (d) of the Advocates
Act, 1961 and the rules made thereunder for laying down standards of
legal eduction and recognition of degrees in law for the purpose of
enrolment as advocates, had sent a communication to all law faculties

28. For further details, see " National Academy of Legal Studies'" University News, 21 (No
29, 1998).

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1999] REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION 245

and law colleges across the country in the year 1997, thereby dircting
them to adopt and implement the revised curriculum from the academic
year 1998-99, In this connection, it may be appropriate to mention here
that the recommendations of the Consultative Meeting held at Bangalore
were considered by the Legal Education Committee at its meeting held
on 2nd November 1996. The Legal Education Committee recommended
certain modifications in the said curriculum and the modified curriculum
was placed before the BCI at its meeting held on 16 and 17 November
1996. The Bar Council finally approved the curriculum with certain
further modifications for adoption by the universities and colleges
imparting legal education in the country. 29
The BCI has now finally recommended 21 Compulsory Legal
Papers in addition to 4 Compulsory Practical Training Papers and three
Optional Papers. It was further recommended that only 2 optional
papers be taught in a year preferably in the last three years in the case
of five year law course. However, in addition to the optional papers
identified, universities have been given free hand to identify more
subjects to be added to the list. The complete list of all the compulsory
and optional papers is annexed at the end of the paper as Annexture III.

IV. Observations on the New LL.B. Curriculum

As stated above, BCI has directed the universities and law schools
that the revised curriculum be implemented from the academic year
1998-99. In this connection, the following few observations may be
made. In the first place, the Bangalore meeting had suggested 24
compulsory legal papers, 6 optional papers and/four practical training
papers, thereby recommending 34 papers in total. However, the BCI
has made some modifications in this and has recommended 21
compulsory legal papers, 3 optional papers and 4 practical training
papers, thereby recommending 28 papers in total. Thus, the papers
entitled Women and Law/Law, Poverty and Development and
Intellectual Property Law have been dropped by the Bar Council of
India from the list of compulsory papers recommended by the
Bangalore meeting. These have been put in the list of the optional
papers recommended. The paper on Law and Medicine has totally
been omitted from the lists of both the compulsory as well as of the
optional papers. Similarly the papers of Human Rights Law and
Interntional Law have been clubbed in one paper. In the second
place, it may be mentioned that out of 24 compulsory papers

29. See, Bar Council of India circular No. 4/1997, (21 Oct. 1997)

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246 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 : 2

recommended by the Bangalore meeting, the Bar Council has kept 19

papers absolutely intact in the list, which include 17 theory papers
and 4 practical papers. In the third place, some minor modifications
have been made by the Bar Council in at least 4 papers recommended
by the Bangalore meeting. For instance, the Juvenile Justice Act and
the Probation of Offenders Act have been added in the title of the
paper on Criminal Procedure; the Transfer of Property Act and the
Easement Act have been added in the title of the paper on Property
Law; General English has been added in the title of the paper on
Legal language/Legal Writing; and instead of Land Laws and Urban
Planning, Ceiling and Other Local Laws have been added. All these
are certainly commendable steps and must indeed be appreciated. In
the fourth place, whereas the Bangalore meeting had recommended
the paper on Intellectual Property Law as the compulsory paper, the
Bar Council has put this particular paper in the list of optional papers,
similarly, whereas the Bangalore meeting had recommended the paper
on Consumer Protection Law as the full fledged optional paper, the
Bar Council has clubbed it with the compulsory paper on Law of
Torts. In the context of the last two papers, the following observations
deserve the immediate attention of the BCI.
As mentioned above, the BCI has clubbed Human Rights and
International Law in a single paper. Considering the urgency of the
matter, the Association of Indian Universities organised a consultative
meeting of senior academics, well-known teachers and other experts30
deeply concerned with the teaching of international law and human
rights on 23-24 May 1998 at New Delhi to consider the teaching of
Human Rights and International Law. There was a complete consensus
in the meeting of the Consultative Group on the point that the absence

30. Following were the members of the consultative Group: (1) N.R. Madhava Menon,
Member, law commission of India and Former Director, National Law school of India
University. Bangalore; (2) S.K. Agrawala, Former Secretary General, Association of Indian
Universities and Professor o\' Law, University of Foona, Pune: (3) J.N. Saxena, Former
Professor of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi; (4) Mool Chand Sharma, Professor of Law,
University of Delhi, Delhi; (5) S.K. Verma Professor of Law, University of Delhi, Delhi; (6)
Y.K. Tyagi. Professor of Human Rights School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi; (7) B.S. Chimni, Professor of International Law. School of International
Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi; (8) V. Vijayakumar Professor of Law.
National Law School of India University, Bangalore: (9) Umesh Kadam, Legal Officer,
International Committee of the Red Cross, New Delhi; (10) Lakshmi Jambholkar. Professor
of Law. University of Delhi, Delhi; (11) Sambul Rizvi khan. Protection Officer, United
Nations High Commission for the Refugees, New Delhi; and (12) Rose Verghese, Reader in
Law, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi and Secretary General, Indian Center for Humanitarian
Laws and Research, Noida.

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of a separate course on international law in the revised curriculum did

not stand to reason.31 The Consultative Group accordingly made the
following observations:

In view of the growing importance of international law in the

era of globalisation, the absence of a separate course on it does
not stand to reason. International law, we hardly need to stress,
has come to impinge on core aspects of national life - economic,
social and cultural. This is inter alia reflected in number of
recent decisions of the Supreme Court of India in which it has
been compelled to refer to developments in international law.
The fact that successive governments have been vigorously
pursuing policies of liberalisation, calling for greater integration
into the world economy, is only going to increase the intervention
of international law in national life. It is, therefore, imperative
that the future law graduate has a sound understanding of the
subject. The curriculum finalised by the Bar Council appears to
recognise this in as much as it included in the list of optional
papers four subjects on different branches of international law
viz. International Economic Law, Air and Space Law, Intellectual
Property law, and Maritime Law. However, it needs to be
appreciated that these specialised optional courses cannot be
taught without secure foundations in the fundamentals of
international law. 32

The Consultative Group further observed that in view of the distinct

nature of the international legal process, this required more teaching
hours and effort. The Consultative Group also hoped that the u Bar
Council will reconsider its decision to club together International Law
with Human Rights and recommend a separate course on the subject of
International Law." 33 Likewise, according to the Consultative Group,
in view of the increasing concern with human rights and its all pervasive
character, "there was a need for a separate course on Human Rights." 34
The Consultative Group ultimately drew up as independent and
separate model course on (0 Human Rights Law, and (ii) International
Law. This was done under the hope and belief that the BCI would give
due consideration to the suggestion of the Consultative Group and

31. See, Association of Indian Universities, The Report of the Consultative Meeting of
Experts on Human Rights and International Law {I'i-IA May 1998), New Delhi.
32. Ibid., p.2.
33 Ibid.
34. Ibid.

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would "agree to revise the curriculum providing separate and

independent course on Human Rights and International Law, at the
earliest." 35
In the second place, the Bar Council has introduced Law of Torts
and Consumer Protection in a single paper. In this connection, it may
be pointed out that since the very beginning of the LL.B. course, Law
of Torts has been taught as full-fledged 100 marks paper in most Indian
universities. In my view, the Law of Torts should not have been clubbed
with the subject of consumer protection. It may be mentioned here that
even though the Consumer Protection Act was enacted in the year 1986
and was implemented in 1987, this legislation has become very popular
and the law concerning consumer protection has touched new heights
when compared to any legislation in the post-independence era. With
the establishment and successful functioning of the three tier quasi-
judicial Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums and with the coming up
of a large number of cases before these forums, the mushrooming of
voluntary consumer organisations and the introduction of consumer
education in schools and colleges, a new consumer jurisprudence is
fast developing in the coutnry. 36 Above all, the pronouncement of
some path breaking judgments on the various issues concerning
consumer protection by the Supreme Court of India has given a much
needed fillip to the consumer jurisprudence in India.37 However, whereas
both the CDC Report and Bangalore Workshop had rightly recommended
the full fledged paper on Consumer Protection to be taught in the
Indian universities and law schools, the Bar Council of India seems to
have wrongly underestimated the significance of the paper by way of
making it a part of the compulsory paper of the Law of Torts. It is,
therefor, suggested that the paper on Consumer Protection should be
taught as a separate paper from the Law of Torts. It may, however, be
taught as an optional paper. As had been originally recommended by
the Bangalore meeting. The reason for the categorical mentioning of

35. Ibid.
36. For a detailed study of the consumer protection law, consumer movement as well as
of the new developments and emerging scenario in the field of consumer protection in India,
see Gurjeet Singh, The Law of Consumer Protection in India: Justice Within Reach (1996).
37. See for example, Lucknow Development Authority v. M.K. Gupta, (1993)1 CTJ
(Consumer Protection and Trade Practices Journal 929 (SC); Morgan Stanley Fund v. Kartic
Das. (1994) 2 CTJ 385 (SC); Consumer Unity and Trust Society, Jaipur v. Chairman and
Managing Director, Bank ofBaroda, Calcutta, 1995 (1) CPR ( Consumer Protection Reporter)
420 (SC); Laxmi engineering Works v. P.S.G. Industrial Institute, (1995) 3 CTJ 289 (SC);
Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha & Ors., II (1995) CPJ 1 (SC); United India
Insurance Co. v. M.K.J. Corporation, III (1996) CPJ 8 (SC) ; and Spring Meadows Hospital
v. Harjot Ahluwalia. 1998 CTJ 8! (SC).

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1999] REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION 249

this paper in the optional list is that in many faculties, an objection is

likely to come that since the Bar Council has made it a compulsory
subject along with the Law of Torts, there is hardly any justification for
introduction of this paper as optional paper. In addition to this, till the
time this decision finally comes from the Bar Council, it must give
directions to the universities about the percentage of contents of both
the papers, that is whether tort and consumer protection should be
taught in equal proportion or one paper should have an edge over the
other. Similar direction is required in the context of the paper on
Human Rights and International Law.
Without being exhaustive, the author would also like to offer a few
more suggestions with regard to the new revised LL.B. curriculum. In
the first place, it is suggested that there should be one compulsory
paper on Indian Legal and Constitutional History. An LL.B. student
should have a thorough grounding in legal and constitutional history.
Secondly, the Partnership Act may be taught along with the Company
Law. Thirdly, the paper on Intellectual Property Law should be retained
as the compulsory paper as was rightly recommended by the Bangalore
meeting. Fourthly, the paper on Interpretation of Statutes which is now
a compulsory legal paper should have equal contents of the Legal
Research Methodology. Finally, the Bar Council has recommended 28
papers in total. Their number can be and should be 30 in total. If a
university or a law college has annual system, 10 papers can be taught
in each year, thereby teaching 30 papers in three years. However, if
semester system is being followed, then 5 papers can be taught in each
semester and once again 30 papers can be taught in 6 semesters in all.
In another personal view, the semester system is an ideal system to
follow and implement the new curriculum recommended by the Bar
Council.
With regard to the four practical papers recommended by the Bar
Council of India, doubts have been expressed about the ability of the
most law schools to successfully impart practical training to the law
students. In this context, I would like to quote the following significant
observations made by Professor A.K. Koul of Delhi University. He
says:

In Law Schools, the major emphasis is on legal scholarship,

research and writing but no student is being equipped for the
practice of law. The teachers of law many have idealism,
scholarship, dedication and sincerity but without knowing how
the law and legal system operates, what are the problems of
practising at bar, how do the courts actually function and work,

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250 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 : 2

how the cases are drafted, how to tackle the nuances which
practice of law at the court entails, the teacher of law cannot
meaningfully implement the above grandiose scheme evolved
by BCI. 38

He further says:

If the BCI curriculum is to be implemented in letter and spirit,

it is imperative for a law teacher to acquire the functional
knowledge of the working of the courts, acquire the expertise
required at the bar, fairly acquaint himself with the lawyering of
clients, the difficulties and problems which a lawyer may be
facing in his daily routine so that he may gain expertise of
skills for making a better lawyer. One wonders what practical
expertise a teacher of law can pass on to his student if he
himself has neither visited a court nor knows how to draft a
contract or filed a bail application or drafted a Writ Petition or
drafted a Memorandum of Association or litigated on any of
these matters. There is a genuine need for the law teachers to
know and acquaint themselves with the law as practised in
courts and other legal fora,39

Notwithstanding the above apprehensions the present author is of

the confirmed view that though at the initial stages, some teething
problems are likely to come, but these will soon be over. The decision
and directions of the BCI to introduce four compulsory practical papers
is a highly commendable and appreciable step and must be appreciated
by one and all. Equally appreciable is the decision of the Bar Council
in refusing to recognise the law degree of the university and college
which would not implement the new curriculum from the academic
session 1998-99. Both steps are highly commendable and shall go a
long way in securing accountability of the universities as well as in
producing well equipped and thoroughly trained lawyers in future.

V Conclusion
To conclude, the following observations of the Supreme Court of
India may be quoted:
The legal eduction should be able to meet in the ever-growing
demands of the society and should be thoroughly equipped to cater to
the complexities of the different situations. Specialisation in different

38. A.K. Koul, Supra Note 16 at 23.

39. Ibid.

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1999] REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION 251

branches of the law is necessary. The requirement is of such a great

dimension that sizeable or vast number of dedicated persons should be
properly trained in different branches of law every year by providing
or tendering competent and proper legal education. This is possible
only if adequate number of law colleges with proper infrastructure
including expertise, law teachers and staff are established to deal with
the situation in an appropriate manner. It cannot admit of doubt that of
late there is a f all in the standard of legal education. The area of
deficiency should be located and correctives should be effected with
the co-operation of competent persons before the matter gets beyond
control. 40
Notwithstanding anything mentioned above, one conclusion is
inevitable and that is, reforms in legal education cannot wait any
longer and that there can be no improvement in legal eduction unless
we can convince the brilliant young people to accept teaching
assignments in law. We need to produce a number of committed and
dedicated teachers who in turn need to produce a new crop of hard
working lawyers, honest judges and distinguished jurists. This is tough
and certainly a challenging task. As we all know, a teacher is a nation
builder and only a committed and dedicated teacher can produce
conscientious students, honest professionals, and informed citizens.
This is what the nation in general and the legal profession in particular
needs today.

Gurjeet Singh*

40. See, State of Maharashtra v. Manubhai Pragaji Vashi, AIR 1996 SC 1, at 10.
* B.A. (Hons.), M.A. (Eco.& Pub. Admn), LL.M. (GNDU), Ph.D. (GNDU), Ph.D.
(SOAS, London).Reader in Law, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar.

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252 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN L^W INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 ; 2

Annexture I
List of Compulsory Papers for LL.B. and LL.B. (Hons.) Courses recommended
by the Curriculum Development Centre (CDC) Report in Law (1990)

A. Compulsory Papers for LL.B.

1. Constitutional Law 16-17. Labour and The Law

2. Administrative Law 18. Criminology and Penology
3. Contracts 19. Election Law
4. Law of Torts 20-21. Environmental Law
5. Criminal Law 22. Law and Urbanisation
6. Family and The Law 23. Law, Science and Technology
7. Law and Property Relations 24. Security Transactions
8. Elements of Indian Legal 25. The law of Intellectual
System Industrial Property
9.10. Power, Procedure and Justice 26. Law and Rural Development
11. International Law 27-28. Consumer Justice
12. Jurisprudence 29. Law and Poverty
13. Jurisprudence: Judicial 30. Private International Law
Process 31. Comparative Law
14-15. Corporation Law Jurisprudence

B. Compulsory Papers for LL.B. (Hons.)

1. Compensatory Discrimination 13. Law and Public Servants

2. Gender Justice
3. Forests and The Law
4. Agrarian Reforms: Selected
Problems
5. Judicial Power and Judicial Process
6. Law and The Disabled
7. Implementation of Human Rights
Standards
8. Disarmament and Peace Strategies
9. Educational Process, Planning
and the Law
10. Legal Profession and Legal Ethics
11. Public Health Law
12. Problems of Access, Governance,
Public Participation and Legal
Institutions
14. Plan and The Law
15. Law and Mass Disasters
16. Law and the Child
17. Legislative Drafting
18. Law and Credit
19. Corporate Finance
20. Unorganised labour and Law
21. Social Security Legislation
22. Public Regulation of Business
23. labour Adjudication: Select Aspects
24. Tax Policies Planning and Tax
Evasion
25. Socio-Economic Offences
26. Law of Monopolies

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J999J REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION 253

Annexture II
List of Compulsory and Optional Papers for LL.B. course recommended by the
All India Consultative Meeting of Bar Councils, universities, UGC and State
Governments held at Bangalore on 12-14 October 1996

A. Compulsory Papers

1. Contract-I 14. Company Law

2. Contract-II 15. Labour Law
3. Tort 16. Human Rights Law
4. Family Law-I 17. International Law
5. Family Law-II 18. Arbitration, Conciliation and
6. Law of Crimes Alternative Dispute Resolution
7. Criminal Procedure 19. Environmental Law
8. Constitutional Law 20. Women and Law/Law, Poverty and
Development
9. Property Law
10. Evidence 21. Interpretation of Statutes
22. Jurisprudence
11. Civil Procedure and Limitation
12. 23. Intellectual Property Law
Legal Language/Legal Writing
13. Administrative Law 24. Land Laws and Urban Planning

B. Optional Papers

1. International Economic Law 9. Child and the Law

2. Bankruptcy Laws 10. Trusts, equity and Fiduciary
3. Taxational Law Relations
4. Comparative Law/Legal Theory 11. Maritime Law
5. Insurance Law 12. Criminology and Penology
6. Conflict of Laws 13. Air and Space Law
7. Banking Laws 14. Law and Medicine
8. Investment and Security Laws 15. Law of consumer Protection

C. Practical Papers

Moot Court, Pre-Trial 3. Professional Ethics, Accountancy

Preparations and Participation in for Lawyers and Bar-Bench
Trial Proceedings Relations.
2. Drafting, Pleading and 4. Public Interest Lawyering, Legal
Conveyancing Aid and Para-Legal Services

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254 JOURNAL OF THE INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE [Vol. 41 : 2

Annexture III
List of Compulsory and Optional Papers Recommended by the Bar Council of
India for LL.B. Three Year and Five Year Revised Curriculum (1998)

A. Compulsory Papers

1. Jurisprudence 12. Civil Procedure Code and

2. Contract-I Limitation Act
3. Contract-II 13. Legal Language/Legal Writing
Including General English
4. Tort and Consumer Protection
Laws 14. Administrative Law
5. Family Law-I 15. Company Law
6. Family Law-II 16. Human Rights and International
Law
7. Law of Crimes
17. Arbitration, Conciliation and
8. Criminal Procedure Code, Juvenile
Alternative Dispute Resolution
Justice Act and Probation of
Systems
Offenders Act
18. Environmental Law
9. Constitutional Law
19. Labour Law
10. Property Law Including Transfer
of Property Act and Easement Act 20. Interpretation of Statutes
11. Law of Evidence 21. Land Laws Including Ceiling And
any Other Local Laws

B. Optional Papers

1. International Economic Law 9. Trusts, Equity and Fiduciary

2. Bankruptcy Laws Relations
3. Taxation Laws 10. Criminology and Penology
1 1. AIR and Space Laws
4. Comparative Law/Legal Theory
12. Law and Medicine
5. Insurance Law
13. Women and Law and Law Relating
6. Conflict of Laws to child/Law, Poverty and
1.. Banking Law Including Negotiable Development
Instruments Act 14. Intellectual Property Law
8. Investment and Security Laws 15. Maritime Law

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1999] REVAMPING PROFESSIONAL LEGAL EDUCATION 255

C. Practical Papers

1. Moot Court, Pre-Trial 3. Professional Ethics

Preparations and Participation in Accountancy for Law years and
Trial Proceedings Bar-Bench Relations.
2. Drafting, Pleading and Con- 4. Public Interest Lawyering, Legal
veyancing Aid and Para-Legal Services.

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