BCI, a statutory body that regulates legal
practice and education in India, passed a resolution to this effect on Sunday
and called for an urgent need for improving the quality of legal education.
BCI will
work on improving existing institutions, and that those without proper
infrastructure or faculty would be shut. It will also work on improving
existing institutions, and that those without proper infrastructure or faculty
would be shut.
The Bar
Council of India (BCI) has decided to impose a three-year moratorium on opening
any law colleges in the country — other than national law colleges, if proposed
by state governments — to address a mushrooming of law schools across the
country.
BCI, the statutory body that regulates legal practice and education in India, passed a
resolution to this effect on Sunday and called for an urgent need for improving
the quality of legal education.
“The Bar
Council of India has imposed a moratorium for a period of three years on the opening of new law colleges in the country. No fresh proposal or application
shall be entertained for any new institution,” the resolution said.
The apex
bar body added that it would also work on improving existing institutions, and
that those without proper infrastructure or faculty would be shut.
“The idea
behind the moratorium is to clamp down on the unregulated growth of law
colleges across the country and also to improve the falling standards of legal
education. For the next three years, the Bar Council of India will lay stress on
improvement of standards of existing institutions and institutions that have no
proper infrastructure and faculty will be closed down,“ said Manan Mishra, the
chairman of BCI.
Bar
Council of India, established by an act of Parliament and exercising powers
given to it under the Advocates Act, 1961, promotes legal education and lays
down standards of such education in consultation with universities and state
bar councils. It is also responsible for granting affiliation to all new law
colleges.
Taking
about the regulatory role of BCI in legal education, Mishra said, “BCI’s role
is akin to the role of medical council of India (MCI). For setting up a new law
college, the body intending to do so first has to get a no-objection
certificate (NoC) from the state government, followed by an affiliation letter
from a university. Thereafter, an approval has to be sought from BCI, which
appoints a committee headed by a retired judge of a high court to carry out a physical inspection of the new institute. Only after a go-ahead is received
from the special committee, a new law college can start functioning. ”
The resolution expresses concerns at the falling standards of legal education in
the country pointing out that there are about 1,500 law colleges in the
country. “Due to lethargy of some universities and state governments, several
colleges are running without a proper infrastructure. State governments seldom
take interest in appointing law faculties in government law colleges and
constituent units,” it said.
According to data from the Bar Council, there were
1.3 million lawyers in India as of 2011.
|
In 2016,
a similar attempt was made by BCI to regulate the rising number of law
colleges, and an advisory was issued to state governments and universities to
not give NOCs and affiliations.