Legal luminaries support call for independent body in legal education

Practising advocates and solicitors have welcomed the recent recommendation made by the Parliamentary Standing Committee to delineate the Bar Council of Indiarsquos BCI authority The aim is to impart legal education in the country to strengthen legal education given the emerging challenges before the legal professionThe committee has recommended that the BCIrsquos powers to regulate legal education should be limited to the extent of acquiring basic eligibility for practising at the BarldquoThe BCIs nonpracticerelated regulatory functions in higher education should shift to the proposed National Council for Legal Education and Research under the Higher Education Commission of Indiardquo says Stuti Galiya a solicitor at Khaitan and Company law firmThe Advocates Act of 1961 currently governs legal practitioners with bar councils responsible for overseeing professional ethics and etiquette highlighted GaliyaLegal luminariesIn todayrsquos changing times legal education should equip students with professional technical and cultural skills to tackle global challenges Establishing an independent authority as proposed with diverse legal luminaries will drive effective improvements in education quality fostering a new era in legal education This will help attract young legal talent and equip them with the right knowledge experience and opportunities to become tomorrowrsquos leadersrdquo she concludedFoster excellence and relevanceMohini Priya advocate on record Supreme Court of India said ldquoIn the evolving landscape of legal education it is imperative to recalibrate regulatory frameworks to foster excellence and relevance The Parliamentary Standing Committees recommendation to delineate the BCIrsquos authority to basic eligibility while entrusting higher education regulation to an independent body is a progressive steprdquoSkills beyond courtroomsPrioritising quality over quantity in legal education is crucial Recognising diverse career paths for law graduates we must equip them with skills beyond the courtroom Redefining the BCIrsquos role and fostering collaboration with independent authorities can create a more dynamic and responsive legal education system embracing emerging technologies for a futureready legal profession added Adv Mohini PriyaLaw as a profession has grownldquoThe legal education system in India is confined to the conventional areas of the laws It is observed in recent times that the focus is on studying the laws by heart but often bypassing the spirit and essence of the law Therefore a substantial number of students are very thorough with the sections of various laws but cannot apply that theoretical knowledge to real liferdquo said Adv Floyd Gracias counsel Supreme CourtldquoToday the legal profession has transformed into more than litigation and chamber practice Areas of specialisation include cyber media ecommerce intellectual property laws etc There is thus an urgent and essential need to create courses to address thisrdquo said Adv FloydWhat others sayAdv Rajewshwar Panchal said ldquoIt is good that the government is contemplating to set up a commission to regulate the legal education in India keeping in view that the legal profession is not limited to practicing law in courts This will certainly produce goodquality legal brains However while doing so it needs to be ensured that legal education should remain easily accessible to every common citizen unlike medical and engineering coursesAdv Dhanpal Jain said ldquoThere should be continuous evaluation of new upcoming private law colleges most of these setups do not even have basic infrastructure and qualified fulltime faculties thereby imparting substandard legal education The committee report is a welcome moverdquo