You are on page 1of 7

CHAPTER-I

INTRODUCTION
During the shift from Mughal legal system, the advocates under that regimen, vakils, too
followed suit, though they mostly continued their earlier role as client representatives. The
doors of the newly created Supreme Courts were barred to Indian practitioners as right of
audience was limited to members of English, Irish and Scottish professional bodies.
Subsequent rules and statutes culminating in the Legal Practitioners Act of 1846 which opened
up the profession regardless of nationality or religion.
In India, legal education has been traditionally offered as a three years graduate degree.
However the structure has been changed since 1987. Law degrees in India are granted and
conferred in terms of the Advocates Act, 1961, which is a law passed by the Parliament both
on the aspect of legal education and also regulation of conduct of legal profession. Under the
Act, the Bar Council of India is the supreme regulatory body to regulate the legal profession in
India and also to ensure the compliance of the laws and maintenance of professional standards
by the legal profession in the country.
To this regard, the Bar Council of India prescribes the minimum curriculum required to be
taught in order for an institution to be eligible for the grant of a law degree. The Bar Council
also carries on a period supervision of the institutions conferring the degree and evaluates their
teaching methodology and curriculum and having determined that the institution meets the
required standards, recognizes the institution and the degree conferred by it.
Traditionally the degrees that were conferred carried the title of LL.B. (Bachelor of Laws) or
B.L. (Bachelor of Law). The eligibility requirement for these degrees was that the applicant
already have a Bachelor's degree in any subject from a recognized institution. Thereafter the
LL.B. / B.L. course was for three years, upon the successful completion of which the applicant
was granted either degree.
However upon the suggestion by the Law Commission of India and also given the prevailing
cry for reform the Bar Council of India instituted upon an experiment in terms of establishing
specialized law universities solely devoted to legal education and thus to raise the academic
standards of legal profession in India. This decision was taken somewhere in 1985 and
thereafter the first law University in India was set up in Bangalore which was named as the
National Law School of India University (popularly 'NLS'). These law universities were meant
to offer a multi-disciplinary and integrated approach to legal education. It was therefore for the
first time that a law degree other than LL.B. or B.L. was granted in India. NLS offered a five
years law course upon the successful completion of which an integrated degree with the title
of "B.A.,LL.B. (Honours)" would be granted.
Thereafter other law universities were set up, all offering five years integrated law degree with
different nomenclature. The next in line was National Law Institute University set up in Bhopal
in 1997. It was followed by NALSAR university of law set up in 1998. The National Law
University, Jodhpur offered for the first time in 2001 the integrated law degree of "B.B.A,
LL.B. (Honours)" which was preceded by the West Bengal National University of Juridical
Sciences offering the "B.Sc., LL.B. (Honours)" degree. KIIT Law School, Bhubaneswar
became the first law school in India in 2007 to start integrated law in three different streams
and honours specialisation; i.e. BA/BBA/B.Sc. LLB (Honours).

1
However, despite these specialized law universities, the traditional three year degree continues
to be offered in India by other institutions and are equally recognized as eligible qualifications
for practicing law in India. Another essential difference that remains is that while the eligibility
qualification for the three year law degree is that the applicant must already be a holder of a
Bachelor's degree, for being eligible for the five years integrated law degree, the applicant must
have successfully completed Class XII from a recognized Boards of Education in India.
Both the holders of the three year degree and of the five year integrated degree are eligible for
enrollment with the Bar Council of India upon the fulfillment of eligibility conditions and upon
enrollment, may appear before any court in India.
The University Grants Commission approved one-year LLM courses in India on 6 September
2012 and the guideline for the same was notified in January, 2013.[3]We have an immense
problem with the faculty, especially with more than 900 plus law schools all over the country,
we suffer for want of faculty. The curriculum needs to be regulated and we will have to
gradually upscale and upgrade, confessed erstwhile law minister, Veerappa Moily.
Academic degrees
In India, a student can pursue a legal course only after completing an undergraduate course in
any discipline. However, following the national law school model, one can study law as an
integrated course of five years after passing the senior secondary examination.
Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) - The LL.B. is the most common law degree offered and conferred
by Indian universities which has a duration of three years. Almost all law universities follow a
standard LL.B. curriculum, wherein students are exposed to the required bar subjects.
Integrated undergraduate degrees - B.A. LL.B., B.Sc. LL.B., BBA. LLB., B.Com. LL.B. These
degrees are mostly offered in the autonomous law schools having a duration of five years.
Master of Laws (LL.M.) - The LL.M. is most common postgraduate law degree which has a
duration of one/two years.
Master of Business Law
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Integrated MBL-LLM/ MBA-LLM. -Generally a three years double degree integrated course
with specialisation in business law.

2
CHAPTER:II
LEGISLATIVE PROVISION
The Bar Council of India, in its meeting held on September 14, 2008 through resolution no.
110/2008, approved the Rules on Standards of Legal Education and Recognition of Degrees
(BCI Education Rules, 2008)
The following are a few salient features of the applicable rules:
Condition precedent
Prior affiliation by the University
Library & ICT facilities
Adequate library facilities: AIR manual, Central Acts, Local Acts, Criminal Law Journal, AIR,
SCC, Company Cases
Subscription to online database
At least 10 Internet access points with desktop facilities
Reading room
Qualified library staff
Drinking water and rest room facilities shall be available in library premises
Library shall have adequate reading space for at least 25% of enrolled students
University Autonomy & Courses
Universities are free to design their academic programs
However, courses stipulated under BCI Education Rules, 2008 are mandatory
Classroom
The maximum intake in each section the class is 60 students
For an intake of 60 students in each section, a classroom size of (30 X 50 = 1500) sft is
necessary
Special classrooms and tutorial classroom shall have space of at least 20 sft per student
Faculty Qualification
Full-time members of the faculty shall possess at least Master of Laws (LLM) degree or as
prescribed by the UGC
Members of the faculty teaching clinical program may be drawn from retired judicial officers
or from the Bar
Visiting faculty from the profession, judiciary or academia shall have a minimum experience
of 10 years
There shall be sufficient number of full-time members of the faculty who shall be, if necessary,
supported by part-time and visiting faculty

3
Members of the faculty shall be paid according to UCC pay scales
Faculty workstation shall be at least 100 sft per workstation
Infrastructure
Clear title to land and buildings
Land shall be adequate to house academic buildings, library, indoor and outdoor sports
facilities and, if applicable, halls of residence for male and female students separately
Academic building shall provide separate classrooms for each section sufficient to
accommodate sixty students and other rooms for the purposes of tutorial work, moot court,
students common room and library
Separate restrooms for male/female 10 units per 100 students
Minimum capital fund of Rupees 10 lakhs
Dedicated academic building
Adequate facilities for indoor and outdoor games
Legal Aid
Each institution shall establish and run a legal aid clinic under the supervision of a senior
faculty member
Laboratory
Institutions running integrated law programs shall have adequate library facilities for science,
engineering and technology courses if courses are offered in the stream
Head of the Institution
Principal/Head/Dean shall have minimum qualifications as prescribed by the UGC
The information provided above is not exhaustive. Please refer to the BCI Education Rules,
2008 for detailed information.

4
CHAPTER III
JUDICIAL ANALYSIS
Manubhai Pragaji Vashi vs State Of Maharashtra And Ors. on 19 August,
1988
In withholding the Grant-in-Aid Scheme to Government recognised non-government law
colleges in Maharashtra, they have been discriminated against . Such is the ratio of this
judgment.
Maharashtra has the reputation of being the premier State in India. Education wise it has several
faculties, to wit, arts, science, commerce, engineering and medicine. They are given grant-in-
aid by Government.
In the entire State of Maharashtra, there is only one Government run law college. It is the
Government Law College at Bombay.
Quest for legal education in the State has progressively been on the increase year by year. For
that matter, during the academic year 1985-86 the total number of law students in Maharashtra
was about 25,700.
Government's learned counsel Mr. Saldhana with his habitual fairness, informs us that at
present the number of such students would be in the vicinity of 27,000 to 28,000.
This heavy demand for law education could naturally not be met by the solitary Government-
run law college in Bombay.
As a result, private or non-government law colleges came up in Bombay and other parts of
Maharashtra. They are recognised by Government.
There are 38 such law colleges.
The strength of their teaching staff is 544 approximately, comprising about 91 full-timers and
the remaining part-timers; the full-time non-teaching staff is about 400.
These law colleges, though Government recognised and unlike other faculties, viz., arts,
science, commerce, engineering and medcine, do not receive any grant-in-aid from
Government.
It is here that the grievance of discrimination is made, as will presently be seen.
Request to Government to apply the Grant-in-Aid Scheme to such law colleges was made way
back in 1975 by the Marathwada University Law Teachers Association. On 1-12-1982.
This request was reiterated by the Chairman of the Bar Council of India. Resolutions were
passed, meeting were held, discussions took place, information was invited and received by
Government from the various principals, data was complied, more meetings more discussions,
correspondence. And so it went on.
The mechanies were gone through. Plenty of activity but no achievement; for a while
Government never actually refused to extend grant-in-aid to those law colleges, it never got
down to the point of actually giving it.
ISSUE

5
Whether there is any discrimination on behalf of the government for the establishment of
private law colleges in Maharastra?
OBSERVATION
It was observed that:
Commencing from academic year June 1988, Government is directed to extend the Grani-in-
Aid Scheme to all Government recognised private law colleges on the same criteria as such
grants are given to other 'faculties, viz. Arts, science, commerce, engineering and medicine.
The Scheme shall be implemented within 12 weeks from today.
Regarding non-government law colleges which have closed down or are about to close down,
their statistics shall be considered by Government as of academic year 1985-86 for the purpose
of extending grants.
Government shall implement the Pension-cum-Gratuity Scheme in favour of the staff of non-
government law colleges with effect from 1-10-1982 on such staff exercising their option in
writing within 4 weeks from Government's declaration to implement Grant-in-Aid Scheme to
non-government law colleges.
JUDGEMENT
No order as to costs of the petitions. Rule is made absolute in terms above. Order accordingly.

6
CHAPTER-IV
CONCLUSSION
The Bar Council of India visits and inspects Universities/Law colleges in the country as part
of its statutory function of promoting legal education and laying down standards in consultation
with the Universities in India and the State Bar Councils. The inspections are carried out in the
existing law colleges to consider whether such colleges can be allowed to be continued and
also to concise. Granting of approval of affiliation to new law colleges when they apply to the
Bar Council of India for imparting LL.B. courses.

The Bar Council of India sends various inspection teams consisting of its members and the
reports submitted by the teams are placed before the Legal Education Committee and decisions
are taken in accordance with the recommendations of the Legal Education Committee.
An application from a college or a University, seeking affiliation or recognition from the Bar
Council of India, should carry the information set out below. This report has to be sent in the
serially numbered form that is available only from the Secretary, Bar Council of India, New
Delhi. A copy of this report has to be kept with the applicant college or University for record
and consultation when the inspection team visits the institution.

Attention: Law Schools In accordance with the decision of the Legal Education Committee on
April 30, 2010, each law school/college is required to report compliance with Legal Education
Rules, 2008.

You might also like