1 . Origin of Legal Education in India ?

Origin of Legal Education in India

The origin of Legal education in India revolves around the vedic era whereby the concept of
Dharma was the source of legal structure. But there was no trace of formal legal education,
it was merely a self-learning process, in the past the Kings or the ruler used to adjudicate
the matters by their own notion of Justice. Sometimes the kings used to appoint senior
people to adjudicate the matters and these judges were not the trained judges in the field of
adinistration of justice, but they were well acquented with the concept of Dharma.

Legal Education in Vedic Period

In ancient India the Vedas were the main source of law, and also were the guiding
principles of human behaviour and human conduct. Mainly the sages heard the commands
of the God and explained those commands of God to their desciples that is why Vedas were
also known as the Shruti, and the desciples also remembered these commands and
preached them to the common people and these were known as Smritis. Goutama,
Buddhayana, Apastambh were some of the well known Smritis and were considered most
ancient expositions of law.

Legal Education in Medieval India

After the Hindu rulers the Indian subcontinent was ruled by the Mughals. Babar Invaded
India in 1525 and from that era a sudden change in the judicial system was observed. In
this era law was mainly based on Quran and Hadith. For the first time in India the Mughals
established the system of courts by following formal procedure. The change in the legal
system of India mainly during this period gave emergence of legal experts who were known
as Vakils. There were Mughal Codes like Figh-E-Firoz Shahai and and Fatwa-E-Alamgiri
which mainly provides for the maintenance of code of conduct of the Vakils.

Legal Education in British India

In British India the development of legal education mainly took place by establishment of
vaious Charters in different times by the Colonial Government. Adalat system in India
formally started in 1772, but development reached to a level during 1883 after
establishment of Law commission in India to codify the laws. Earlier the legal education was
mainly based on practical training and it was a two years course program with traditional
leacture method.

In 1885 Justice Muthuswamy Iyer proposed a necessity of setting up formal colleges for
imparting legal education based on scietific method. Followed by the proposal of the First
Indian University Commission stating that a bachelor’s degree either in Arts or Science is
mandatory to pursue LL.B degree course.
After the Independence there was a new law which came into existence by the name of
Advocates Act 1961. By virtue of this Act a new statutory body was created by the name of
Bar Council of India at the National Level. The Act made this statutory body promote the
legal education and maintain the standards for legaal education in India. Bar Council of
India is responsible to prescribe the minimum qualification for a student to take admission in
Law and it has the duty to prescribe the curriculum of the course.

The Bar Council of India mainly promote, regulate all the institutions involved into imparting
legal education India. From National law universites to small law institutions like law college
in Coochbehar every college comes under the control of the Bar Council of India.

The Chamier Committee To remove all distinction enforced by statue or by practice between Barristers
and Vakils Munshi Ishwar Saran moved a resolution in the Legislative Assembly recommending
legislation in February 1921. Though the removal of the distinction between Barristers and Vakils was
the pr

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In the case of the State Bar Council of Delhi, the Additional Solicitor-General of India ex officio; and in
the case of any other State Bar Council, the advocate-general of that state, ex officio.

What are State Bar Councils?

Section 3 of The Advocates Act of 1961 established the State Bar Councils as statutory
organisations to establish the laws governing the legal profession, and legal education in their
respective fields. Every state must have a bar council, which must be known as the bar council of
that state, according to Section 3 of the Advocates Act.

These were established as various councils for various states and union territories present in India.
The state bar councils also act as a representative of the advocates of the respective state. The
duties of the State Councils in each state are also outlined in Section 6 of the Advocates Act of
1961.

Structure of the State Bar Council:

According to the Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961, every state must have a bar council, which
must be known as the bar council of that state, according to Section 3 of the Advocates Act.
A State Bar Council shall consist of the following members:
In the case of the State Bar Council of Delhi, the Additional Solicitor-General of India ex officio; and
in the case of any other State Bar Council, the advocate-general of that state, ex officio.

Section 3 of the Act states that:

 If the electorate is less than 5,000, the State Bar council must have 15 members.
 If the electorate is between 5,000 and 10,000, there must be 20 members.
 If there are more than 10,000 electorate, the Bar Council will consist of 25 people.

The State Bar Council's electoral roll of Advocates is used to elect the members of the Bar Council
through a system of proportional representation using a single transferable vote. Each Bar Council
shall have a Chairman and a Vice Chairman which shall be elected in a manner prescribed.

Functions of the State Bar Council

Section 6 of the Advocates Act, 1961 lays down the functions of the State Bar Council which
are:

1. To admit persons as advocates on its roll:

The State Bar Council shall admit those advocates on its state roll those who are qualified to
be admitted on state roll as per Section 25. Section 24 of the Advocates Act, 1961 states the
qualifications that need to be fulfilled by a person to be admitted as an advocate on a state
roll which are:

i. He must be a citizen of India

(Provided that a national of any other country is permitted to practice in India as an
advocate only if that country allows the nationals of India to practice as an advocate
in that country, with due qualifications.)
ii. He must have completed the age of 21 years.
iii. He must have obtained a degree in law.
iv. He must have fulfilled all other conditions as specified by the State Bar Council.
v. He has paid the stamp duty according to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and has paid
the enrollment fee as prescribed by the State Bar Council.

2. To prepare and maintain the state roll:

According to Section 17, every State Bar Council shall prepare and maintain a roll of
advocates along with their names and addresses. Such roll shall consist of senior advocates
as well as other advocates.

Section 18 states the power of the State Bar Council to transfer a name from its roll to
another State Bar Council and every such State Bar Council shall send an authenticated
copy of advocated prepared by it for the first time to the Bar Council of India, along with any
alterations made to such roll.

3. To determine and entertain the cases of misconduct by advocates admitted on its roll:
Whenever the State Bar Council has a reason to believe or on a receipt of a complaint of any
professional misconduct by an advocate admitted on its roll as an advocate, the State Bar
Council refers the case to the disciplinary committee, as per Section 35 of the Advocates
Act, 1961.
 4. To safeguard and protect the rights, priviledges and interests of advocates on its roll;
5. To conduct seminars and talks on legal topics by some eminent jurists and publish journals;
6. To manage and invest the funds of the State Bar Council;
7. To organize the elections of its members;
8. To visit and inspect universities and check whether or not they are functioning according to
the directions given under sub-section 7(1)(i);
9. And to perform any other function prescribed by the Advocates Act, 1961.

Apart from it, under section 6(2), the State Bar Councils are also empowered to constitute
one or more funds for the purposes of:

i. To provide financial aid to organize welfare schemes for indigent and disabled advocates;
ii. To provide legal aid;
iii. To establish law libraries.

Section 8 of the Advocates Act, 1961 mentions the term of office of an elected member of a State
Bar Council which is 5 years from the date of publication of the result of election. And whenever any
State Bar Council fails to conduct elections after the expiration of 5 years, the Bar Council of India,
extend such term upto 6 months, by recording its reasons for the same in writing.