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.
