LEGAL EDUCATION: IMPACT OF GLOBALIZATION ON LEGAL

EDUCATION IN INDIA

Introduction
Law is one of the major sources responsible for maintaining order and peace in the
society. An entity which can be attributed the status of creating fear among people in
order to create an environment which is good for the growth and overall development of
the nation. Hence, it can be inferred that legal education plays a highly important role in
the overall growth of the country.

Globalization can be described as the integration of different cultures, societies but the
main thing which is generally understood by the term globalization is the integration of
the economies of two or more countries. However are the effects of globalization merely
related to the changes in the cultural or economic? Does it not result in changes in other
aspects of the society with respect to education, standard of living etc? The answer to it is
affirmative. Globalization has brought changes not only in the field of economy but
academics as well with specific reference to that field of academics which is responsible
for imparting legal education. Legal education is the basis for all legal works, be it the
training of good lawyers, or judgments by the courts which have positive effects on the
society. The backbone of all such actions is the legal education.

Imparting of proper legal education has a high importance for having efficient and
effective legal infrastructure. This branch of education plays a role in the development of
lawyers and judges of the country.

Chief Justice A. M. Ahmadi pointed out in one of his lecture, “I think we have waited long
enough to repair the cracks of the Legal Education system of this country and it is high time
that we rise from our arm chairs and start the repair work in right earnest.”

Impacts
A. Formation of National Law Universities.
The system of legal education during the post independence era suffered with many
deficiencies because of innumerable reasons which could not be properly reformed even
after various steps were taken in that direction. The standardization and regulation of all
higher education programs is the burden of the University Grants Commission (UGC),
however when the question is of legal education it is also under the authority of the Bar
Council of India which also tried its best to overcome the then not so good situation of
legal education. But even after its many efforts for reforming the educations system and
imposing stricter rules there were not many improvements in the overall condition of the
education regarding legal fields.

Hence the BCI (Bar Council of India) took a major step in order to meet the requirements
of good quality, competitiveness and professionalism in the field of legal education. This
major step was the formation of the National Law Schools or National Law University
the very first being National Law School of India University (NLSIU) situated in
Bangalore and formed in 1986. This was the first of its kind to offer the five year
integrated course of LL.B. in which students were admitted with the after qualifying their
higher secondary school examinations. One of the advantages can be stated that the
students fresh out of school are generally the ones which are without any prejudice
whatsoever and shaping them into good lawyers, advocates, judges etc is easier and also
more beneficial for the society at large.

However the journey of the establishments of National Law University did not end with
the successful running of the one at Bangalore, but it later resulted in the formation of
National Law Schools at many places in the nation which includes Hyderabad, Bhopal,
Calcutta and Lucknow among others. In all there are twelve National Law Schools in the
Country.

Even the entrance to these universities is on the basis of entrance tests in order to test the
overall knowledge and aptitude of the future lawyers as the era of globalization requires
legal professionals not only apt with bookish knowledge but also with efficiency and
effective skills relating to matters of their fields.

B. Establishment of National Knowledge Commission.

The establishing of NKC (National Knowledge Commission) was the result of the hard
work and efforts of the Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in 2005. According to this
commission legal education as a part of professional has attained a lot of significance in
the past few years especially in the context of globalization. There is a need of well
qualified, trained, efficient and knowledgeable legal professionals for various fields
which include corporate practice, litigation, academic services and matters relating to
government issues among many others. Hence according to them there is a need for an
altogether different perspective of legal education which will result in excellence and
growth finally leading to overall development of the nation. Legal education should be
imparted in such a manner so as to enable the professional to meet the growing
challenges of globalization and internationalization. There is also need for research in the
legal fields which would result in meeting challenges and ever increasing needs of the
country.

Some of the key areas which are under consideration of National Knowledge
Commission are access to quality legal education; methods of attracting and retaining
talented faculty; identifying avenues for continuous curriculum development; finding
innovative solutions for infrastructure and administrative matters; regulatory issues;
developing a serious research tradition that is globally competitive; formulating a culture
of sustained law training that meets the needs of the different sectors of the society and
economy.

Reform Proposals by the National Knowledge Commission:

A standing committee must be formed in order to bring changes in legal education and to
meet the aspirations of all sections of the society. Such Standing Committee consists of
twenty five members in total which are eminent advocates, members of the Bar Council
of India, academicians, etc.
Even a rating system was developed by this Knowledge Commission in order to judge
and assess the standard of legal education in different colleges and universities spread
over the country, be it be private or under government control.

It was a practice which was in continuation since long past that the Bar Council of India
used to formulate the curriculum and syllabi for all colleges and universities which were
involved in providing legal education through courses like LL.B. and LL.M. However
this National Knowledge Commission was interested in bring out changes in this
situation which gave immense authority to the Bar Council since it was felt that the
course formed by them was not up to the mark in order to meet the pressing needs of
globalization and internationalization. Some optional courses must also be offered apart
from the core mandatory ones. The committee responsible for deciding the syllabi must
also receive proper feedbacks from students from time to time and must also pay heed to
their needs and aspirations by providing them the required facilities.

If there is one factor that is responsible for the development of a pupil then that is the
teacher which tirelessly works in the direction in order to improve the efficiency and
capability of his or her student. Hence it is very important to have a faculty in the
institution which is not only knowledgeable but equally efficient for accomplishing the
task assigned to him or her. Therefore the university administration must among other
things show importance towards the appointment of proper staff which is up to the mark.
In short measures should be taken in order to attract and retain talented and efficient
faculty. The most important way or technique to accomplish this goal is the most popular
universal incentive, which is the monetary benefit.
It was very well said by George Bernard Shaw that “Lack of Money is the root of all
evil”. Also one Edith Wharton commented that “The only way not to think about money
is to have a great deal of it”
Hence it is an established that money is the driving force for all kinds of jobs. Hence
there must be improvement in the remuneration facilities. If necessary then even salary
differentials methods can be adopted inter and intra universities and other educational
institutions in order to retain the talented staff and also to promote a culture of expertise
and excellence. This is because the problem of inadequate remuneration is more
prominent in the legal education faculties than in the fields of other disciplines.
Many a times efficient and talented personalities are not interested in joining academic
services due to a major difference in their earnings as a teacher in a university or college
in comparison to the many times higher income when they are in the field of legal
practice in courts.

One more thing which results in the growth of a law student other than the faculties is the
examination methods used by the colleges and universities. It is a common trend among
students to open books the night before their exam, cram bits from here and there and
form a story in their answer sheets. Many a times another practice adopted is that of
‘Divide and Rule’ or ‘Cooperate to Dominate’, in this two or more students divide the
course among themselves, prepare their share and write their papers with the help of their
awesome communicative skills. It is however not denied that many are bale to attain
good grades by these practices. But the question is, are these students able to fulfill the
requirements. Legal education is imparted not only for cramming and getting grades but
to increase their efficiency as good lawyers, advocates and judges. Hence such students
are not able to cope up in the real world which is outside their colleges and universities
and here they face trouble. And in the present scenario of globalization, such
professionals without any knowledge and talent have no use whatsoever their grades may
have been. Hence a major change in the exam patterns was and is still required. Many
changes introduced include the change of theory based questions to problem based ones.
This is done in order to check the legal aptitude and intellectual capacity of the students.
Because it is absolutely true that ‘courtroom has no place for crammers’.

Another important step which must be taken is in the development of this field is the
improvement in research facilities in universities and colleges. When this task is
accomplished then only India can contribute to the huge field of law something from its
own side in order to become a producer of law and not merely stay a consumer. Some
measures which can be taken in order to achieve this are emphasizing analytical writing
skills and research methodology as integral aspects of the LL.B program; rationalizing
the teaching load to leave faculty members sufficient time for research; granting
sabbatical leave to faculty to undertake research; creating excellent infrastructure;
institutionalizing periodic faculty seminars; prescribing research output as one of the
criteria for promotion and also establishing new centers for advanced legal research.

In the present era of internationalization the linking of national and international legal
education institutions is highly important. In order to do so knowledge of laws relating to
international matters must also be imparted to students undertaking legal education as this
is the core or backbone of international relations. Some initiatives which can be taken in
this regard are building collaborations and partnerships with notes universities in the
foreign lands and as a result can offer a joint or a dual degree; creating faculty which is
well trained for working at international level with the required efficiency and
effectiveness; imparting knowledge globally through lectures by way of video
conferencing and also student exchange programs can be formulated.

C. Development of Air and Space Law.

The first plane hit the skies in 1903 due to the efforts of the Wright Brothers, and in the
near past the first successful spaceship was launched in the space in the year 1956. The
first man to enter space was Yuri Gagarin in the year 1961 and the moon was finally
reached by man in 1969. It has always been the nature of man to acquire property, the
area does not matter, and it can be on land and even on water. And as the technology is
developing rapidly properties are also being sold which are situated underwater. But with
reference to present scenario the trend is to even acquire property in space. This is
generally by way of construction of space stations. And also because of the construction
of the International Space Station the importance and need for Air and Space Law has
increased manifold.

The first instance of the Air and Space Law was seen in the doctoral thesis on Air Law by
a lady from Holland named Johanna (Jenny) Francina Lycklama à Nijeholt.
Air and Space Law is almost well developed in the developed countries, but are still not
prominent in developing and underdeveloped countries, however steps are being taken in
this regard.

But steps have been taken by many institutions of the country to develop this branch of
Air and Space Law. Some of the universities which have developed centers for research
in the field of Air and Space Law are National Law School of India University situated in
Bangalore, NALSAR University of Law situated in Hyderabad. Also steps are being
taken in Lucknow the Capital of Uttar Pradesh to develop a research center for Air and
Space Law in the Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University.

D. Introduction of Cyber Law.

In the present stage of technological development computers play such an important role
which no single person or a company can dream of accomplishing. The use of computers
is everywhere from a banker to a ticket booking personnel and even a ticket checker.
Hence it can be termed as the world’s largest cashier as majority of the transactions these
days are done by way of the use of computer and internet facilities. Even these days
many cars are equipped with Global Positioning System (GPS) facilities in order to
facilitate in driving.

And this fact cannot be denied that if these facilities malfunction even for a day in the
whole nation, then the country would surely be in turmoil. These days a click of a mouse
by a hacker can result in nullifying the bank balance of the richest man also.

It is also a known fact that hackers (a term generally referring to people involved in
Cyber Crimes) are tirelessly working day and night in order to break the codes and gain
access. The crimes relating to cyber law can be done in a two fold manner:

(i) To attack other computers by way of viruses, worms, spyware etc:

Such acts result in very harmful situations and circumstances generally resulting in the
losing of data by the victims of hacking and sometimes the data lost by them can be of a
very important nature hence resulting in huge losses.

(ii) Use a computer as a weapon to perform real world crimes:

The intentions and objectives of cyber criminals are however not different form those of
the normal criminals involved in crimes of stealing, cheating, defrauding and though it
may surprise many even eve teasing. The only difference between them and the normal
offenders is only the place where they are at during the commission of crime. Many a
times hackers hack into the web sites of banks in order to transfer money from any
account they want to in order to cause wrongful loss to others and wrongful gain to
themselves. There are various web sites on the internet which offer various schemes and
discounts on almost all kinds of objects, but the point is that some of them are even
frivolous and such web sites are only formed with the intention of luring unaware people
into their trap and with the object to cause the victims to suffer losses. There are also
many a times instances of internet stalking which result in humiliation of victims.
For tacking such cases the field of cyber law must be well developed in those nations
which are totally dependent on the computer and internet facilities. India though not fully
but to a very much extent is dependent on these facilities.

E. Inculcation of laws relating to Information Technology.

In the present era the electronic or the ‘e’ has gained a lot of importance in everyone’s
life and this is an accepted fact that anything that plays an important role in a person’s
life has legal significance in some way or the other. Hence the study of this sphere of
globalization of electronic era is also important and hence forms a major part of the legal
education in India.

The information technology Act was passed in 2000 to provide legal recognition for all
those transactions which are made by way of use of electronic data interchange and other
means of electronic communication often termed as the electronic commerce. These
methods involve the use of alternative options for paper-based methods of
communication and storage of information and also to facilitate electronic filing of
documents with the Government agencies.

Hence the study of such laws is important so as to enable the advocates and judges to
take up those cases which have disputes regarding such matters and do the needful.

F. Centers for Advanced Legal Studies and Research (CALSAR)

By way of the recommendations of the National Knowledge Commission (NKC)
established in 2005, it was also decided for the setting up or formation of four
autonomous, well connected and well networked centers for advanced legal studies and
research shortened as CALSAR. Its main objective was to carry out research of various
laws keeping in mind the present needs and modern aspirations. Another job was to act as
a think – tank for the government advising it on various international and national
matters.
In response to the need for research information for legal studies each center for
advanced legal studies and research has to be linked with all law schools, colleges and
universities in its area for generating institutionalized interaction opportunities and even
updating the concerned faculties about the research made.
Other objectives and functions of these centers include in-depth research on new and
developing areas of law; organizing workshops and undertaking publishing a peer
reviewed journal of international quality; institutionalizing arrangements for scholars in
residence; facilitating multi disciplinary approaches to law.

Conclusion
In order to conclude the above findings the foremost question which needs to be
answered is that are the expectations, needs, aspirations and requirements of the country
and the people living in it are met or not. If the answer to the above posed question is in
affirmative, then only the other findings can be discussed, because of the impacts are not
resulting in the happiness of the people and they are not benefiting from it, then there is
no use whatsoever of these impacts.
One can say with full confidence that the very first impact discussed herein relating to the
formation of National Law Universities and National Law Schools has been very
successful and the effort is now bearing fruit and is visible in the form of highly trained
and efficient lawyers produced by these law universities and schools. And this fact can
not be denied that students herein are more interested in pursuing the integrated LL.B.
programme offered by these National Law Universities instead of the old curriculum of
three year law.

The working of National Knowledge Commission and the Centers for Advanced Legal
Studies and Research has also been effective but not as prominent as that of the National
Law Universities.

However the areas where there are not major developments are those relating to the Air
and Space Law and Cyber Law. There are need of stricter rules for tackling and curbing
the cyber crimes.

Endnotes

1. Pradip Kumar Das, Legal Education To Meet Challenges Of Globalization

http://www.knowledgecommission.gov.in/focus/legal.asp

2. Dyutimoy Mukherjee, Law Schools And Legal Education In India

http://www.google.co.in/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=4&ved=0CC4QFjAD&url=h
ttp%3A%2F%2Fworks.bepress.com%2Fcgi%2Fviewcontent.cgi%3Farticle%3D1001%2
6context%3Ddyutimoy_mukherjee&rct=j&q=impact+of+globalization+on+legal+educati
on&ei=rD4BTNurDoW5rAf1xZg8&usg=AFQjCNErfgEi3YuqNAkVfcg1a9_gidkIFw&s
ig2=fpbyD5sOlizU23YjQB2FDA

3. http://www.ppl.nl/100years/topics/airandspacelaw/

4. http://www.cyberlawsindia.net/

5. http://www.legalserviceindia.com/cyber/itact.html

Name: Anant Kumar Hajelay

University: Dr. Ram Manohar Lohiya National Law University, Lucknow.
Email: ananthajelay@gmail.com
Contact No.: 9005052610
Permanent Address: SB-96 Shastri Nagar, Ghaziabad, UP.