Opinion Crossing legal lines

Consider the following: lawyers in developed societies generally practice within politically stable and economically viable societies with fairly well developed legal systems.

On the other hand,lawyers in developing societies work in a difficult and increasingly unstable environment surfeited by political instability,depressed economies,ethnic and religious tensions and inefficient legal systems that have been unable to insulate themselves from partisan and ethnic pressures. These conditions present frustrating challenges for lawyers and inevitably make it difficult for them to check the excesses of government officials and well-connected private citizens who easily manipulate the legal system to achieve preordained outcomes.

Kenneth Kaunda,the erstwhile president of Zambia said that “the lawyer in a developing country must be something more than a professional man,he must be more than the champion of fundamental rights of the individuals. He must… in the fullest sense be part and parcel of the society if he is to participate in its development and the advancement of the economic social and political well being of the members; the lawyer must go beyond the narrow limits of the law.”

The solution today is to innovate and provide autonomy to our law schools so that they are able to concentrate on their primary function of research and development. Teacher and students must come together and must learn to innovate and discover new methods of disseminating knowledge with a special emphasis on engagement with social problems and movements. Our system must be so designed that not one deserving student is not denied admission after he has secured an admission to a educational institution of his choice.

The challenge is how to take mediocre institutions — which are too many in number — to improve their performance towards achieving some degree of professionalism and academic excellence in the shortest possible time.

For promoting competitive excellence in a global context in national law schools,the idea must be to promote autonomy and competition amongst the law schools apart from the obvious solution of improving the finances. The shortage of teachers can be addressed through innovative methods such as including more visiting and adjunct teachers,contractual engagement of professionals etc.

The emphasis must be to create and harness a research environment in the existing law schools. Our law schools must be capable of producing leaders of the country who not only to learn the practice of law but to transform law and legal institutions to maximise justice in society and to put legal education at the centre for better governance under democracy and rule of law.

The late Justice Chagla said that “the legal profession is a great calling and it is a learned and noble profession. Remember always that it is a profession. It is not a trade or business. The distinction between the two is deep and fundamental. In business,your sole object is to make money… In the legal profession making money is merely incidental. You have traditions to which you have to be true. Like an artist there has to be a passionate desire to attain perfection. Service to society and your fellow men has to be the dominant motive underlying your work.”

We must understand that no institution can survive without regular,timely reforms,without which it will become obsolete. Judicial reforms do not simply mean procedural and substantive laws,but also corrective endeavors aimed at strengthening and systematising legal mechanisms.

Legal education is a vital link in the creation of knowledge concepts as well as in the application of such concepts in society. The need for trained law personnel in academia,litigation,corporate practice,government and civil society has increased significantly over the last few years and it is estimated that the demands for such trained personnel will rise far more exponentially in the years to come. The role of a modern lawyer is to understand the multiplication of these laws,different traditions and cultures and in the process to get acquainted with the unfamiliar legal systems of the world. In this effort,lawyers and legal scholars need to learn to appreciate the similarities and differences between various world systems. Post liberalisation,the entire concept of legal education has changed. Today,legal education has to meet not only the requirements of the bar and the new needs of trade,commerce and industry but also the requirements of globalisation.

“All technological advancements we have today are the outcome of scientific exploration of scientists of earlier centuries. At no time,man was beaten by problems. He strives continuously to subjugate impossibility and then succeeds.” Our agenda of reforms in legal education is one such journey of exploration which should break down limiting frontiers.

The writer is union minister for law and justice