Bar Council of India Calls for Rigorous Adherence to Legal Education Standards

Call for Compliance: Bar Council of India Stresses Legal Education Standards

The Bar Council of India has issued a notice to the vice-chancellors and departments of higher education across the country to help the top lawyers’ body uphold the sanctity and quality of legal education. BCI secretary, Srimanto Sen said that the top lawyers’ body had passed a resolution in June 2015 urging all the state governments and universities to impose restrictions on issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for opening new law institutes and affiliations to them for three years. However, despite this decision, over 300 NOCs were issued by state governments, and affiliations were granted by the universities, according to the circular dated April 15. It also noted that there is an urgent need to curb this unchecked proliferation of law colleges across the country.

The circular also mentioned that the responsibility of curbing this mushroom growth of substandard law colleges isn't solely on the shoulders of the BCI. It said that active involvement and cooperation of universities and government bodies are necessary to achieve the goal of maintaining the highest standards of legal education. The foundation for handling this issue lies in the groundwork carried out by the state government’s higher education department as well as the universities. They serve as the main bodies responsible for the regulation of the educational standards.

The representation has highlighted three stages of establishing a law college starting from obtaining an NOC from the state government, to getting the affiliation from the concerned university and finally getting the approval from BCI. By strictly following the above stages, it can be guaranteed by the state government, higher education departments, and universities that only quality law colleges will be built.

Editor's Note:

The notice presented by the Bar Council of India (BCI) highlights the issue of rampant proliferation of substandard law colleges, even with BCI’s previous resolution urging restrictions on issuing No Objection Certificates (NOCs) for new law institutes. Despite the action, over 300 NOCs were issued by state governments showing the lack of regulation and respect for the law. Adhering to the certificate-issuing process not only ensures that the quality of the institution is maintained but also the quality of education provided, maintaining the integrity and standards of legal education nationwide.