Dear Experts and members please read the article posted in www.zeenews.com under the title: Sibal hints at reforms in legal education Updated on Thursday, September 10, 2009, 20:27 IST Tags:Kapil Sibal, reforms, legal education In an informal address to the members of the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), he said the ministry was exploring the possibility of introducing law as a subject at the undergraduate level as in B.A courses to enable a large number of persons to gain legal knowledge. in medicine or engineering can also gain legal knowledge if law was introduced as one of the subjects in their respective curriculums, he said. Sibal's call for reforms in legal education comes in the backdrop of the BCI's disapproval of a high-level conference on legal education convened by the Ministry of Human Resource Development by excluding its members. The HRD Ministry had constituted a 12-member committee to discuss reforms in legal education, comprising of legal experts and lawyers but no member from the BCI was considered in this regard, he had said.
The minister said that though there were some "vested interests" keen on stalling reforms, the government was determined to go ahead with the revamp.
"Instead of insisting on having a system like BA, LLB, why do we not have a BA Law. There can be doctor-lawyer, engineer-lawyer also," he said.
A student pursuing an undergraduate course
Sibal claimed the BCI has not been able to bring in the necessary reforms as it was not equipped with adequate expertise and infrastructure.
"There are some vested interests who do not want the reforms, but I hope the members of the bar (advocate) here will support me in the stand," he remarked.
Sibal, an eminent senior lawyer himself, made the remarks while addressing the SCBA members after inaugurating a library hall for the Bar.
Later in an informal talk with reporters, Sibal said the issue relating to the Government's final stance on the controversial subject relating to gay s*x (Section 377 IPC) pending in the Supreme Court could not be discussed at today's Cabinet meeting as the Home Minister was not present.
The BCI has alleged that there was a "hidden agenda" involved in it as the lawyers body had been opposing the entry of foreign lawyers and law firms into India.
"We do not approve of this round table conference as it does not include BCI. It has been done with an hidden agenda as BCI has been opposing the entry of foreign lawyers and firms," BCI Chairman S N P Sinha had said at a press conference here last week.
The BCI was constituted under the statute with a purpose to regulate legal education and no other body as suggested by the Yashpal Committee or Knowledge Commission can take over it, he had said.
The BCI chairman had said it does not recognise the 12-member committee, which it feels is a precursor for disbanding the BCI.
The BCI is of the view that if the government was contemplating reforms in legal education, it should amend the Advocate's Act which lays down rules for legal education and profession.
