Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
Like many others, I am concerned with the standard of the legal education in Bangladesh. The low standard of this education is contributing to having graduates with skills below the expected and desired standard. The legal profession, judiciary and other services suffer when such people join the profession.
Then how can we compete in the global context?
However, this is not the reality for legal education only. The same also goes for other disciplines as well (with few exceptions). But our concentration here is on legal education.
According to renowned Indian legal academic, Professor N. R. Madhava Menon, ‘law as a discipline is to play multiple tasks in a society and lawyers are expected to act as change agents and social engineers in governance and development of the nation.
In a recent discussion, a former Judge of the High Court Division, wondered about the initiative from the Bar Council or the Bar Association which has produced lawyers like Dr. Kamal Hossain, Barrister Amir-ul Islam …with regard to our legal education and future of the legal profession. According to him, the legal profession should not be open for all but for those law graduates who have adequate legal knowledge, have sufficient skills and are conversant with the norms and ethics of the profession.
Again, Professor Menon who pioneered the global-standard legal education through establishing National Law School of India University in Bangalore, observes that the goal of the legal education is to provide: (i) competent lawyers, prosecutors, and judges to administer the judiciary, (ii) well-trained law personnel for providing legal services to the government departments and corporate institutions, (iii) legal researchers and academics for legal education, legal reform, good governance, and (iv) disseminate legal knowledge and culture conducive to the Constitution, rule of law, good governance, human rights, and democracy.
Therefore, what is the existing status of legal education here?
We all are talking about bringing culture of respect for human rights, rule of law, and democracy; however, we are not paying attention to the basic - the legal and human rights education.
The donor agencies, which have been partnering for awareness and training programmes are not paying attention to the root of the issue- the legal and human rights education. With regard to training, NGO initiatives are also not sufficient due to deficiency in their own capacity and expertise, lack of continuity and corruption.
The desired legal education, as visioned by Professor Menon, should be problem solving which would give opportunities to students for legal analysis and reasoning, research and writing, investigation and marshalling facts, communication, negotiating, counseling, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and litigation. The graduates are expected to manage efficiently the legal work and will have right attitudes to the dignity of the profession of law and justice. They would nourish and fight to protect the professional values and integrity, and to promote and practice fairness and freedom from bias. How close or far away are we from those?
Recently, I was attending a seminar on the Alternative Dispute Resolution jointly organised by the Law Commission and the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) in Chittagong. The issue of the condition of legal education came up in the discussion. The Chairman of the Law Commission, Justice Abdur Rashid warned all of us that if we did not pay immediate attention then we shall have to pay heavily in future.
The existing scenario of the legal education has been documented by Professor Menon in a study almost a decade ago commissioned by a donor agency. He also come up with a comprehensive set of recommendations and plan for streamlining our legal education. However, there is no headway since then.
Professor Menon piloted the plan of Indian Bar Council for a world-class legal education through establishment of the National Law School of India University in Bangalore. The same model has been replicated all over India over the years; there are now more than 15 Law Universities in India. Even, Kathmandu Law School in Nepal has earned fame for its quality curriculum, teaching methods, research and publications. Unfortunately, we are far behind still now.
In our country, we have four streams of legal education. There are law departments in four public universities. Around 35 private universities have law departments or schools. There are 70 law colleges under the National University all over the country. There are external programmes of a few British universities as well.
The curriculum and teaching methods are mostly outdated (with exceptions for few courses in few public/private universities). Very few institutions have schemes to engage students so that they could learn legal research and writing skills with regard to a social problem.
The law schools also follow a faulty selection process for teachers. There is no faculty tenure, service conditions, evaluation processes etc.
Professor Menon rightly observed, years of experience do not make a good law teacher unless the experience is grounded on experimentation, endeavour, and creativity.
In the United States, law schools provide extra credits in selecting faculty members to those who have experiences in research works, publications, advocacy and pro bono works, and working experience for international and national legal or human rights organisations alongside the academic excellence.
Here in Bangladesh, though the law schools/departments have their “journals” (not regular in publication), those follow the rule of “limiting the knowledge.” In case of public university, only the respective faculty members could contribute articles (but no question about independent review and competitive selection process). Those publications are also not available for public, even with payment. (At least I have that experience on a couple of occasions).
Bangladesh Bar Council, the statutory body to look after the standard of legal education and ethics in legal profession has also been failing to play its due role. It has reportedly no activity with regard to research and experiment on legal education, curriculum and related professional issues. According to some observers, the Council has turned into a place of “clerical activity” for issuing licenses to advocates and a “political platform for a section of lawyers” to compete with each other. But it should be above and beyond political divisions. The agency has no innovation and creativity with regard to academic and research activities for quality legal education and related matters for legal profession. It has no regular research projects and publications as well.
Given my recent experience in the United States, I found out how an NGO like the American Bar Association (ABA) is serious with regard to development of the quality of legal education, research, publication and above all quality of the graduates coming out of law schools. There, the Bar Examination Board and respective State Supreme Courts are the authority to take examinations for fresh law graduates and to issuing license as an Attorney (Advocate in Bangladesh). However, the law schools have to have accreditation from the ABA who inspects law schools on a cyclic order. State and County Bar Associations also have lot of activities for the professional development.
Recently, I had had a discussion with M. Professor Shah Alam, Member of the Law Commission. He had been my teacher at the University of Rajshahi (before he had moved to establish the Department of Law at the University of Chittagong). I find the same concerns as of mine in Professor Alam. He is also worried about the quality of legal education and absence of initiative for improvement. This seasoned legal academic expressed his anguish regarding no help from the related ministry and others concerned in this regard.
I came to know from Professor Alam that he and Professor Mizanur Rahman (presently the Chairman of National Human Rights Commission) was commissioned by the World Bank almost a decade ago for conducting two studies on the legal education and clinical legal education in the country. Following that the Law Commission (Professor Alam was a Member earlier as well) has submitted a completed proposal for streamlining the legal education to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs. However, there is no progress in this regard so far. There is no vision and direction on legal education in the newly adopted Education Policy as well.
Then, how we would get skilled personnel to compete and negotiate in a globalised world in government dealings, trades and business.
I wonder, given a good number of our policy makers having background in law and being in legal profession, how come the matter is getting ignored for years. This is high time for us to move on and take up the issue immediately. Otherwise, our dream for a pro-active and pro-people legal and judicial system would remain a distant dream. We should aim to make the “legal studies intellectually stimulating, socially relevant and professionally significant,” as Professor Menon observes.
Writer is an Advocate (Attorney) in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is also a researcher and analyst on legal and human rights issues.
* Originally appeared in the Daily Sun, Dhaka, 14 December 2010; link: http://www.daily-sun.com/index.php?view=details&type=daily_sun_news&pub_no=67&cat_id=&menu_ id=17&news_ type_id=1&index=0&archiev=yes&arch_date=14-12-2010
Showing posts with label Dr. Mizanur Rahman. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dr. Mizanur Rahman. Show all posts
Thursday, December 16, 2010
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Law Letter: On legal education and research*
Legal education in Bangladesh has been facing a pity condition. Though we are producing a huge number of law graduates every year, however, majority of them are having under-qualified or non-qualified in terms of their legal knowledge, research, analytical, and presentation skills and competitiveness in a globalized legal profession.
The frustrating situation has been [is] better described as a “disastrous situation” by none other than the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission and a renowned Law Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman in a recent interview with me.
This downwards trend in legal education have been contributed by the obsolete and archical curriculum, traditional teaching and examination methods, lack of practical and clinical aspects in the curriculum, huge gap in relations between teachers and students, teachers' engagement in out-side activities (other than own institutions), lack of interest, motivation, opportunity and skills for research and publications.
The scenario of legal research is at pity stage as well. A handful of law schools at public and private universities offer courses on legal research and writing. However, those also lack of standard and quality due to lack of resources (i.e., library materials, Internet faculties etc), skills and expertise of the respective faculty members. The private law colleges which are producing the majority of law graduates don't offer similar courses. That is why a great number of lawyers (and future judges) are coming from there with out skills in legal research and writing. These skills are taught at law schools even in countries like India and Nepal as well.
Our faculty members are coming back with education and degrees in the developed countries, however, they are not taking any initiative to introduce best practices out of their knowledge and learning.
The journals published by law schools at public universities (not regular in publication) do follow a principle of “limiting knowledge.” For example, the Journal of the Faculty of Law at the University of Dhaka accepts articles only from their respective faculty members. This is also true for other public universities which hardly happens in the universities in other countries.
When a journal is supposed to explore and disseminate new knowledge on a given subject, how come it will probe its standard while there is no competitiveness in selecting and reviewing articles independently. Who will give a guaranty that only teachers could write “best articles”? This so-called journals are also not publicly available as I experienced.
Given my recent affiliation for a year [as] a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota Law School and Human Rights Center in Minneapolis, U.S.A., I found that three of their journals are being edited and published by only students (appointed by the schools on a rotation basis) alongside two others by faculty members, and two more by jointly by faculties and students. Those are coming out on a scheduled dates over the years incorporating articles selected on its originality, analysis, quality and contribution. They hardly bother about whether the author is a teacher or students, or a practicing lawyer. The same I found at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, India.
Here, our professional, research and training institutions are also lacking in terms of quality research and publications. The Bangladesh Bar Council and Law Commission neither have research and publication projects nor journals. The Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) had its last issue of the biannual publication, Bangladesh Journal of Law in 2007. Though the Judicial Administration and Training Institute (JATI) has its own journal however, its lacks professionalism and quality in publishing a research journal.
Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
LL.M. (Minn., U.S.A.), Ph.D.
Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
*Originally appeared in The Daily Star, "Law & Our Rights" Section, 12 November 2010; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2010/11/02/letter.htm
The frustrating situation has been [is] better described as a “disastrous situation” by none other than the Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission and a renowned Law Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman in a recent interview with me.
This downwards trend in legal education have been contributed by the obsolete and archical curriculum, traditional teaching and examination methods, lack of practical and clinical aspects in the curriculum, huge gap in relations between teachers and students, teachers' engagement in out-side activities (other than own institutions), lack of interest, motivation, opportunity and skills for research and publications.
The scenario of legal research is at pity stage as well. A handful of law schools at public and private universities offer courses on legal research and writing. However, those also lack of standard and quality due to lack of resources (i.e., library materials, Internet faculties etc), skills and expertise of the respective faculty members. The private law colleges which are producing the majority of law graduates don't offer similar courses. That is why a great number of lawyers (and future judges) are coming from there with out skills in legal research and writing. These skills are taught at law schools even in countries like India and Nepal as well.
Our faculty members are coming back with education and degrees in the developed countries, however, they are not taking any initiative to introduce best practices out of their knowledge and learning.
The journals published by law schools at public universities (not regular in publication) do follow a principle of “limiting knowledge.” For example, the Journal of the Faculty of Law at the University of Dhaka accepts articles only from their respective faculty members. This is also true for other public universities which hardly happens in the universities in other countries.
When a journal is supposed to explore and disseminate new knowledge on a given subject, how come it will probe its standard while there is no competitiveness in selecting and reviewing articles independently. Who will give a guaranty that only teachers could write “best articles”? This so-called journals are also not publicly available as I experienced.
Given my recent affiliation for a year [as] a Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow at the University of Minnesota Law School and Human Rights Center in Minneapolis, U.S.A., I found that three of their journals are being edited and published by only students (appointed by the schools on a rotation basis) alongside two others by faculty members, and two more by jointly by faculties and students. Those are coming out on a scheduled dates over the years incorporating articles selected on its originality, analysis, quality and contribution. They hardly bother about whether the author is a teacher or students, or a practicing lawyer. The same I found at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences in Kolkata, India.
Here, our professional, research and training institutions are also lacking in terms of quality research and publications. The Bangladesh Bar Council and Law Commission neither have research and publication projects nor journals. The Bangladesh Institute of Law and International Affairs (BILIA) had its last issue of the biannual publication, Bangladesh Journal of Law in 2007. Though the Judicial Administration and Training Institute (JATI) has its own journal however, its lacks professionalism and quality in publishing a research journal.
Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
LL.M. (Minn., U.S.A.), Ph.D.
Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh
*Originally appeared in The Daily Star, "Law & Our Rights" Section, 12 November 2010; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2010/11/02/letter.htm
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Opinion: Whether legal education in Bangladesh
By Dr. Uttam Kumar Das
All sensible among us are to be concerned with the existing legal education in Bangladesh. Unfortunately our policy makers have no headway on this.
Given the existing curriculum, lack of practical aspects in the education, traditional teaching methodology, absence of social exposure in the course works, lack of training, motivation and incentives for faculties, lack of research and publication facilities both for faculties and students our law schools are lagging behind in producing quality law graduates with enough legal knowledge and related skills. We are also lagging behind in the regional and global context.
We are hardly confident of our law graduates whether they are skilled and competent enough to compete for jobs in legal practice, international or UN agencies and other new avenues in the globalized world.
There is no plan how many law graduates do we need to produce a year. Also, there is no screening mechanism for potential students to entering into private law schools or colleges. At the same time, any law graduates could get a license as an Advocate (Attorney) from the Bar Council through passing a so-called examination (having written and viva voce components). However, there is no effective mechanism to examine whether someone really has enough legal knowledge and professional skills, or have knowledge on professional ethics and atticate.
No one other than Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, who is a renowned Law Professor at the University of Dhaka and currently the Chairman of the National Human Rights Council (NHRC), described the situation of legal education in Bangladesh as a “disoriented one.” He told me in a recent interview: “There is no concrete perspective for the sector. There is no coordination of activities who is doing what and why with regard to the legal and judicial education and training in the country.” The Government can also don’t rid of its responsibilities.
According to Professor N. R. Madhava Menon, the legendary legal academic who had pioneered through establishing the National University of India University in Bangalore, the legal education aims to produce: (i) sufficient competent lawyers, prosecutors, and judges to administer the judiciary, (ii) well-trained law personnel for providing legal services to the government departments and corporate institutions, (iii) legal researchers and academics for legal education, legal reform, good governance, and (iv) disseminate legal knowledge and culture conducive to the Constitution, rule of law, good governance, human rights, and democracy.
India has now around 20 full-fledged Law University including one in Kolkata (i.e., West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences) modeled on the National Law University of India University in Bangalore. Even Katmandu School of Law in Nepal evolved on the same model could be a model for Bangladesh.
Quality legal education has a direct contribution to the quality of lawyers and legal profession; the same is also link to quality of judges, legal and judicial activism, rule of law, democracy and promotion and protection of human rights.
Now, let us look at what our law departments, schools or colleges are doing. The agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC), Bangladesh Bar Council, or the Law Commission who are legally obligated and empowered to review, monitor and recommend measures for quality legal education and legal professions have been failing miserably. The Supreme Court Bar Association, and Districts Bar Associations are also indifferent in acting for in promoting quality legal education and training.
In Bangladesh, there are various schemes of legal education: there are four year LL.B. (Honours) programme at law schools or departments of public and private universities, and two year LL.B. programme at the private law colleges affiliated with the National University. There are one year LL.M. program both at public universities; and both one and two year LL.M. programme at private universities.
Apart from that there is another stream of legal education, which are external programmes of some British Universities. This is “discriminatory to the common people being very expensive”. This course is not approved by the University Grants Commission as well.
There is a huge gap of the legal knowledge and skills what students are learning in different course (i.e., at public and private universities, and from private law colleges).
The curriculum at both public and private law school/departments/colleges are obsolete and archaical.
No one can say when the curriculum of the LL.B. programme now under the National University was prepared or modified, as Dr. Mizanur Rahman mentioned to me. According to him, the private law colleges, now home for part-time students and teachers, alike private universities turned into business centers in producing so-called law graduates. These colleges are producing more graduates.
The law programmes both at the public and private universities have problems with regard to timeliness of the curriculum, application of course, teaching methodology, examination system, skills and expertise of the respective faculty members, research and publications and other resources available for a standard academic atmosphere, this seasoned legal academic observed.
This poor legal education has serious negative impact on our legal and judicial system. As seen by Dr. Rahman: “Though we are getting a huge number of law graduates and lawyers enrolled each year, however, a handful of them are qualified in terms of proper legal knowledge and skills. That is why we are getting a huge number of under-qualified lawyers in the bars. The same is also happening to the bench.” He went further to say: “Thus, we are getting bad justice system and judgments from them.” However, there are few activist lawyers and judges. Its true again that few activist lawyers or judges change the whole system.
Since we are not having a people-friendly vision in the existing legal education that is why the common people are obscure in the legal and judicial system, as commented by Dr. Rahman. He opined: “Without a sound legal education we can’t expect a sound legal or judicial system as well. We have to come out of the mindset of the colonial judicial system as early as possible.
There is “blame game” also. Bangladesh Bar Council has been accusing (private) law schools of producing “non-qualified” graduates and “selling certificates,” as I have noticed from the speech of the Vice-Chairman of the Council, Advocate Abdul Baset Mazumder in a seminar in Dhaka on 25 October, 2010. The allegations might have some grounds, however, one can easily ask the Council what the they are then doing, and why they are not standardizing the enrollment examination-system which could contribute positively in legal education.
One thing I need to mention here also. The development partners and donor agencies have so much interest in promoting access to justice and human rights. Unfortunately, I did not see any tangible initiative from them to make partnership in promoting quality legal or human rights education and research here which are keys to what they wanted for.
Our concerned Ministries and other institutions have failed miserably in this regard. Therefore, we need to establish a standard setting legal education institution in the country (what was initiated by the Bar Council of India in case of the National University of India University in Bangalore, and Kathmandu School of Law did in its 10 years life span).
As prescribed by Dr. Menon, the legal education should be of problem solving which would give opportunities to students for legal analysis and reasoning, research and writing, investigation and marshalling facts, communication, negotiating, counseling, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and litigation. The graduates are expected to manage efficiently the legal work and will have right attitudes to the dignity of the profession of law and justice. They would nourish and fight for to protect the professional values and integrity, and to promote and practice fairness and freedom from bias.
According to this renowned Law Professor, law as a discipline is to play multiple tasks in a society, and lawyers are expected to act as change agents and social engineers in governance and development of a nation.
So, therefore, when will our legal education in Bangladesh move in that direction only time can say.#
Uttam Kumar Das, Ph.D., is a Human Rights Lawyer. He is the Deputy Director at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) in Dhaka. However, opinion is author’s own. E-mail: udas1971@gmail.com.
All sensible among us are to be concerned with the existing legal education in Bangladesh. Unfortunately our policy makers have no headway on this.
Given the existing curriculum, lack of practical aspects in the education, traditional teaching methodology, absence of social exposure in the course works, lack of training, motivation and incentives for faculties, lack of research and publication facilities both for faculties and students our law schools are lagging behind in producing quality law graduates with enough legal knowledge and related skills. We are also lagging behind in the regional and global context.
We are hardly confident of our law graduates whether they are skilled and competent enough to compete for jobs in legal practice, international or UN agencies and other new avenues in the globalized world.
There is no plan how many law graduates do we need to produce a year. Also, there is no screening mechanism for potential students to entering into private law schools or colleges. At the same time, any law graduates could get a license as an Advocate (Attorney) from the Bar Council through passing a so-called examination (having written and viva voce components). However, there is no effective mechanism to examine whether someone really has enough legal knowledge and professional skills, or have knowledge on professional ethics and atticate.
No one other than Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, who is a renowned Law Professor at the University of Dhaka and currently the Chairman of the National Human Rights Council (NHRC), described the situation of legal education in Bangladesh as a “disoriented one.” He told me in a recent interview: “There is no concrete perspective for the sector. There is no coordination of activities who is doing what and why with regard to the legal and judicial education and training in the country.” The Government can also don’t rid of its responsibilities.
According to Professor N. R. Madhava Menon, the legendary legal academic who had pioneered through establishing the National University of India University in Bangalore, the legal education aims to produce: (i) sufficient competent lawyers, prosecutors, and judges to administer the judiciary, (ii) well-trained law personnel for providing legal services to the government departments and corporate institutions, (iii) legal researchers and academics for legal education, legal reform, good governance, and (iv) disseminate legal knowledge and culture conducive to the Constitution, rule of law, good governance, human rights, and democracy.
India has now around 20 full-fledged Law University including one in Kolkata (i.e., West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences) modeled on the National Law University of India University in Bangalore. Even Katmandu School of Law in Nepal evolved on the same model could be a model for Bangladesh.
Quality legal education has a direct contribution to the quality of lawyers and legal profession; the same is also link to quality of judges, legal and judicial activism, rule of law, democracy and promotion and protection of human rights.
Now, let us look at what our law departments, schools or colleges are doing. The agencies like the University Grants Commission (UGC), Bangladesh Bar Council, or the Law Commission who are legally obligated and empowered to review, monitor and recommend measures for quality legal education and legal professions have been failing miserably. The Supreme Court Bar Association, and Districts Bar Associations are also indifferent in acting for in promoting quality legal education and training.
In Bangladesh, there are various schemes of legal education: there are four year LL.B. (Honours) programme at law schools or departments of public and private universities, and two year LL.B. programme at the private law colleges affiliated with the National University. There are one year LL.M. program both at public universities; and both one and two year LL.M. programme at private universities.
Apart from that there is another stream of legal education, which are external programmes of some British Universities. This is “discriminatory to the common people being very expensive”. This course is not approved by the University Grants Commission as well.
There is a huge gap of the legal knowledge and skills what students are learning in different course (i.e., at public and private universities, and from private law colleges).
The curriculum at both public and private law school/departments/colleges are obsolete and archaical.
No one can say when the curriculum of the LL.B. programme now under the National University was prepared or modified, as Dr. Mizanur Rahman mentioned to me. According to him, the private law colleges, now home for part-time students and teachers, alike private universities turned into business centers in producing so-called law graduates. These colleges are producing more graduates.
The law programmes both at the public and private universities have problems with regard to timeliness of the curriculum, application of course, teaching methodology, examination system, skills and expertise of the respective faculty members, research and publications and other resources available for a standard academic atmosphere, this seasoned legal academic observed.
This poor legal education has serious negative impact on our legal and judicial system. As seen by Dr. Rahman: “Though we are getting a huge number of law graduates and lawyers enrolled each year, however, a handful of them are qualified in terms of proper legal knowledge and skills. That is why we are getting a huge number of under-qualified lawyers in the bars. The same is also happening to the bench.” He went further to say: “Thus, we are getting bad justice system and judgments from them.” However, there are few activist lawyers and judges. Its true again that few activist lawyers or judges change the whole system.
Since we are not having a people-friendly vision in the existing legal education that is why the common people are obscure in the legal and judicial system, as commented by Dr. Rahman. He opined: “Without a sound legal education we can’t expect a sound legal or judicial system as well. We have to come out of the mindset of the colonial judicial system as early as possible.
There is “blame game” also. Bangladesh Bar Council has been accusing (private) law schools of producing “non-qualified” graduates and “selling certificates,” as I have noticed from the speech of the Vice-Chairman of the Council, Advocate Abdul Baset Mazumder in a seminar in Dhaka on 25 October, 2010. The allegations might have some grounds, however, one can easily ask the Council what the they are then doing, and why they are not standardizing the enrollment examination-system which could contribute positively in legal education.
One thing I need to mention here also. The development partners and donor agencies have so much interest in promoting access to justice and human rights. Unfortunately, I did not see any tangible initiative from them to make partnership in promoting quality legal or human rights education and research here which are keys to what they wanted for.
Our concerned Ministries and other institutions have failed miserably in this regard. Therefore, we need to establish a standard setting legal education institution in the country (what was initiated by the Bar Council of India in case of the National University of India University in Bangalore, and Kathmandu School of Law did in its 10 years life span).
As prescribed by Dr. Menon, the legal education should be of problem solving which would give opportunities to students for legal analysis and reasoning, research and writing, investigation and marshalling facts, communication, negotiating, counseling, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), and litigation. The graduates are expected to manage efficiently the legal work and will have right attitudes to the dignity of the profession of law and justice. They would nourish and fight for to protect the professional values and integrity, and to promote and practice fairness and freedom from bias.
According to this renowned Law Professor, law as a discipline is to play multiple tasks in a society, and lawyers are expected to act as change agents and social engineers in governance and development of a nation.
So, therefore, when will our legal education in Bangladesh move in that direction only time can say.#
Uttam Kumar Das, Ph.D., is a Human Rights Lawyer. He is the Deputy Director at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) in Dhaka. However, opinion is author’s own. E-mail: udas1971@gmail.com.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Law interview: Legal education must be brought out of the four walls
Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, is an outspoken academic and activist for the cause of promotion and protection of human rights. Originally a Professor with expertise in International Law at the Department of Law, University of Dhaka has pioneered in the human rights education in Bangladesh and beyond through his innovative Human Rights Summer School model of legal learning, a two-week course for university law students. This year the programme would have its 11th event in December which is being organised under the auspices of the Empowerment Through Law of the Common People (ELCOP), a training and advocacy organization initiated by Dr. Rahman himself. Recently, Dr. Rahman has been honoured with the “Professor N. R. Madhava Menon Best Law Teacher in the SAARC Region Award 2010”. Dr. Uttam Kumar Das has talked with him on various issues of legal education and human rights.
Uttam Kumar Das (UKD): What is your view on the legal education in Bangladesh?
Dr. Mizanur Rahman (MR): The legal education in Bangladesh is a disoriented one. There is no concrete perspective for the sector. There is no coordination of activities- who is doing what and why with regard to the legal and judicial education and training in the country. Many rivulets of legal education and gaps among their standards have put a challenge to the rule of law itself. We are failing to produce qualified lawyers and judges in terms of their legal knowledge and analytical and others skills in a competitive scenario in the global or regional context. Though it has been a vital sector given the contribution to the rule of law, democracy and access to justice, however, unfortunately, no body takes the issue of legal and judicial education seriously. Whereas our neighbouring countries including Nepal have been producing global-standard law graduates who are competing trans-nationally.
UKD: What consequences do you foresee in the given scenario?
MR: If we can't take immediate steps to halt this downgrading trend of legal education immediately, it would be a disastrous situation for the country. Unfortunately, after 40 years of the liberation of the country we could not initiate a standard legal education.
We have failed to set up a people-friendly vision in the existing legal education as well. It, with few exceptions, hardly has clinical and practical component. The existing system is also obsolete and archaic in nature. For example, no one can say when the curriculum of the LL.B. programme now under the National University was prepared or modified. The private law colleges, home for part-time students and teachers, alike private universities turned into business centres in producing so-called law graduates. The law programmes both at the public and private universities have problems with regard to timeliness of the curriculum, application of course, teaching methodology, examination system, skills and expertise of the respective faculty members, research and publications and other resources available for a standard academic atmosphere.
UKD: What is the impact on the judiciary?
MR: One of our former Chief Justices had observed that a disaster has been going on in our judiciary. This is contributed by lack of qualified lawyers.
It has turned into a vicious circle. Though we are getting a huge number of law graduates and lawyers enrolled each year, however, a handful of them are qualified in terms of proper legal knowledge and skills. That is why we are getting a huge number of under-qualified lawyers in the bars. The same is also happening with the bench. Fortunately, there are few activist lawyers and judges; they are very small in number to change the whole scenario. One activist judge can't make a sound judicial system what we need. Without a sound legal education we can't expect a sound legal or judicial system as well. We have to come out of the mindset of the colonial judicial system as early as possible.
UKD: What is the reason for this failure?
MR: No body thinks about this; no government has thought to take up the issue. There has been no initiative either from public and private sector to reform, regulate and standardise the legal education. That's why under-qualified and non-qualified teachers and graduates have been dominating like their counterparts in the legal profession and judiciary. One can easily understand what they are to contribute to ensure people's access to justice. It has been a frustrating scenario.
There are hardly any qualified and globally-competitive graduates from our law schools in practicing International Business Law or Trade Law among some other modern area of practice. That's why as a nation we are failing to meet the global trends and competitions in those sectors.
However, there has been an elite class among lawyers here educated in the west. They are not actually from the mainstream lawyers here; they do maintain coteries of themselves. Handfuls of them are controlling practices related to global finance and transactions here.
UKD: How do you see a remedy from this situation?
MR: The government has to take note of the situation. There should be National Legal Education Policy and Comprehensive Action Plan in this regard. We also need standard setting national legal institutions to facilitate study and research on various branches of legal and justice education. Human Rights should be an integral part of the legal education. We can follow the model of the National Law School of India University and Kathmandu School of Law.
UKD: What about the legal education in the Education Policy?
MR: The Kudrat-e-Khuda Commission has a stake of eight pages on the legal education. The latest Education Policy dedicated only half page on the issue which very neglectfully covers an important sector. This reflects our national position and standpoint on the legal education.
UKD: What about the role of Bangladesh Bar Council?
MR: The Bar Council has miserably been failing in this regard. It seems that it has opened a sluiced gate to all to be lawyers (Advocates). Since, the Council is authorised to admit new lawyers (Advocates) and issue licenses; it has a regulatory role and immense opportunity to advocate for a standard and qualitative legal education. The Council should standardise its examination system for enrolling new lawyers as well. Also, it should make effective the monitoring role over law schools. And finally, the Council should go beyond political considerations with regard to promoting and advocating for a standard setting in the legal education system. Earlier, the Bar Council, under the leadership of Barrister M. Amir-ul Islam, had introduced few skill development training programmes for lawyers, which included Bar Vocation Courses (BVC) and Continuing Legal Education Programme (CLEP). Those programmes had been stopped for unknown reasons during the last caretaker government.
The bar Associations have also a role to play in this regard. They should be vigilant about professional standard, skills and etiquette. They should develop and maintain a strict Code of Conduct for their members and fight for upholding the canon of the profession and justice.
UKD: So, what are your overall recommendations?
MR: The legal education has to be standardised to compete with in the globalised world. The legal education must be brought out of the four walls; it has to be made practical and be brought to the problems of the people and society. For example, in studying land law one has to go to the villages, and has to talk to the peasants, landlords, and sharecroppers. To study criminal law, we need to know the situation and psyche of the victims, accused persons, and society as a whole. In the present system, law courses are being taught without their practical aspects. That's why law graduates do not feel comfortable when they start to do practice. Its like one is learning how to swim without getting in to water. Therefore, in practice one found him or herself unable to swim in the huge ocean of practical lives and legal complexities. Legal ethics and ethical lawyering should also be a focus point of legal curricula. The law teachers are to be properly equipped with knowledge, teaching techniques, research etc. Continuing Legal Education should be introduced for teachers alongside lawyers and judges.
UKD: Would you please share your feelings being the “Best Law Teacher in the SAARC Region”?
MR: I see it as recognition of joint efforts of what we are doing here with regard to legal and human rights education. I would take it as encouragement for all of us for more works to do. And we need concerted efforts of all concerned to achieve the goal of an egalitarian society.
The interviewer is an Advocate in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is also the Deputy Director at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS), Dhaka.
*Originally appeared in The Daily Star ("Law & Our Rights" Section), 16 October 2010; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2010/10/03/interview.htm
Uttam Kumar Das (UKD): What is your view on the legal education in Bangladesh?
Dr. Mizanur Rahman (MR): The legal education in Bangladesh is a disoriented one. There is no concrete perspective for the sector. There is no coordination of activities- who is doing what and why with regard to the legal and judicial education and training in the country. Many rivulets of legal education and gaps among their standards have put a challenge to the rule of law itself. We are failing to produce qualified lawyers and judges in terms of their legal knowledge and analytical and others skills in a competitive scenario in the global or regional context. Though it has been a vital sector given the contribution to the rule of law, democracy and access to justice, however, unfortunately, no body takes the issue of legal and judicial education seriously. Whereas our neighbouring countries including Nepal have been producing global-standard law graduates who are competing trans-nationally.
UKD: What consequences do you foresee in the given scenario?
MR: If we can't take immediate steps to halt this downgrading trend of legal education immediately, it would be a disastrous situation for the country. Unfortunately, after 40 years of the liberation of the country we could not initiate a standard legal education.
We have failed to set up a people-friendly vision in the existing legal education as well. It, with few exceptions, hardly has clinical and practical component. The existing system is also obsolete and archaic in nature. For example, no one can say when the curriculum of the LL.B. programme now under the National University was prepared or modified. The private law colleges, home for part-time students and teachers, alike private universities turned into business centres in producing so-called law graduates. The law programmes both at the public and private universities have problems with regard to timeliness of the curriculum, application of course, teaching methodology, examination system, skills and expertise of the respective faculty members, research and publications and other resources available for a standard academic atmosphere.
UKD: What is the impact on the judiciary?
MR: One of our former Chief Justices had observed that a disaster has been going on in our judiciary. This is contributed by lack of qualified lawyers.
It has turned into a vicious circle. Though we are getting a huge number of law graduates and lawyers enrolled each year, however, a handful of them are qualified in terms of proper legal knowledge and skills. That is why we are getting a huge number of under-qualified lawyers in the bars. The same is also happening with the bench. Fortunately, there are few activist lawyers and judges; they are very small in number to change the whole scenario. One activist judge can't make a sound judicial system what we need. Without a sound legal education we can't expect a sound legal or judicial system as well. We have to come out of the mindset of the colonial judicial system as early as possible.
UKD: What is the reason for this failure?
MR: No body thinks about this; no government has thought to take up the issue. There has been no initiative either from public and private sector to reform, regulate and standardise the legal education. That's why under-qualified and non-qualified teachers and graduates have been dominating like their counterparts in the legal profession and judiciary. One can easily understand what they are to contribute to ensure people's access to justice. It has been a frustrating scenario.
There are hardly any qualified and globally-competitive graduates from our law schools in practicing International Business Law or Trade Law among some other modern area of practice. That's why as a nation we are failing to meet the global trends and competitions in those sectors.
However, there has been an elite class among lawyers here educated in the west. They are not actually from the mainstream lawyers here; they do maintain coteries of themselves. Handfuls of them are controlling practices related to global finance and transactions here.
UKD: How do you see a remedy from this situation?
MR: The government has to take note of the situation. There should be National Legal Education Policy and Comprehensive Action Plan in this regard. We also need standard setting national legal institutions to facilitate study and research on various branches of legal and justice education. Human Rights should be an integral part of the legal education. We can follow the model of the National Law School of India University and Kathmandu School of Law.
UKD: What about the legal education in the Education Policy?
MR: The Kudrat-e-Khuda Commission has a stake of eight pages on the legal education. The latest Education Policy dedicated only half page on the issue which very neglectfully covers an important sector. This reflects our national position and standpoint on the legal education.
UKD: What about the role of Bangladesh Bar Council?
MR: The Bar Council has miserably been failing in this regard. It seems that it has opened a sluiced gate to all to be lawyers (Advocates). Since, the Council is authorised to admit new lawyers (Advocates) and issue licenses; it has a regulatory role and immense opportunity to advocate for a standard and qualitative legal education. The Council should standardise its examination system for enrolling new lawyers as well. Also, it should make effective the monitoring role over law schools. And finally, the Council should go beyond political considerations with regard to promoting and advocating for a standard setting in the legal education system. Earlier, the Bar Council, under the leadership of Barrister M. Amir-ul Islam, had introduced few skill development training programmes for lawyers, which included Bar Vocation Courses (BVC) and Continuing Legal Education Programme (CLEP). Those programmes had been stopped for unknown reasons during the last caretaker government.
The bar Associations have also a role to play in this regard. They should be vigilant about professional standard, skills and etiquette. They should develop and maintain a strict Code of Conduct for their members and fight for upholding the canon of the profession and justice.
UKD: So, what are your overall recommendations?
MR: The legal education has to be standardised to compete with in the globalised world. The legal education must be brought out of the four walls; it has to be made practical and be brought to the problems of the people and society. For example, in studying land law one has to go to the villages, and has to talk to the peasants, landlords, and sharecroppers. To study criminal law, we need to know the situation and psyche of the victims, accused persons, and society as a whole. In the present system, law courses are being taught without their practical aspects. That's why law graduates do not feel comfortable when they start to do practice. Its like one is learning how to swim without getting in to water. Therefore, in practice one found him or herself unable to swim in the huge ocean of practical lives and legal complexities. Legal ethics and ethical lawyering should also be a focus point of legal curricula. The law teachers are to be properly equipped with knowledge, teaching techniques, research etc. Continuing Legal Education should be introduced for teachers alongside lawyers and judges.
UKD: Would you please share your feelings being the “Best Law Teacher in the SAARC Region”?
MR: I see it as recognition of joint efforts of what we are doing here with regard to legal and human rights education. I would take it as encouragement for all of us for more works to do. And we need concerted efforts of all concerned to achieve the goal of an egalitarian society.
The interviewer is an Advocate in the Supreme Court of Bangladesh. He is also the Deputy Director at the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS), Dhaka.
*Originally appeared in The Daily Star ("Law & Our Rights" Section), 16 October 2010; link: http://www.thedailystar.net/law/2010/10/03/interview.htm
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