DIRECTORATE FOR REVAMP OF COUNTRY’S LEGAL EDUCATION

Law education in the country is in the process of change with intensive training programmes, rigorous screening tests for admission, regular freshers’ course for advocates and better standards of education across law schools.
The newly set up directorate of legal education in India, that will shoulder the responsibility of all things concerning law education, will prepare an action plan on the subject for the next decade.
The directorate, set up in Delhi, will start functioning on Monday (January 4) bringing under its umbrella all the 950 odd law colleges in India, said Prof. V.B. Coutinho from Karnataka, who was appointed as its first director.
“Reforms in legal education have been awaited for long and are a necessity. There has been no directorate to look into this for over 60 years now. The standard of legal education needs to be upgraded along with training of faculty and advocates,” said Prof. Coutinho who is also member of the Karnataka Knowledge Commission. “For this, working on the syllabus is among the agenda. We will invite law faculty from top international universities such as Harvard, Warwick and Columbia, to name a few, to exchange knowledge with the faculty here. Advocates will be encouraged to take refreshers’ courses through the academy of advocates that will be set up,” Prof. Coutinho added.
Established by the Bar Council of India as recommended by the Supreme Court, the directorate will bring together more collaboration between the academia and advocates. This, to ensure that legal knowledge also progresses in the country, said Prof. Coutinho who has 30 years of experience in the legal field.
“The legal knowledge committee comprising the country’s top-most legal experts will review and suggest the way ahead. New methods of teaching and a new set of subjects is the key. Areas such as intellectual property law, humanities and women’s rights along with environmental law that is important today will be included. A new set of criminal law will also be looked into,” added the director.