The Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF) honoured eminent law teachers on the ocassion of ‘Law Teachers’ Day’ on September 4, 2010. The celebration of excellence in teaching included various awards that were handed out to teachers from the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) region.

Professor Mizanur Rahman, Faculty of Law, Dhaka University and Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Bangladesh, was awarded the “Professor N.R. Madhava Menon Best Law Teacher Award-2010” by Supreme Court judge, Justice R.V. Raveendran. According to a press release by the Dhaka University, the SILF and the Menon Institute of Legal Advocacy Training jointly awarded Professor Rahman. The award carries prize money of Rs.100,000 ($2150), a citation and a plaque of honour.

According to the Hindu, other awardees included Professor S.P. Sathe, former Director, ILS Law College, Pune who was awarded the “Distinguished Law Teacher Award (posthumous)” by former Chief Justice of India, J.S. Verma.

Professor Sathe was a former President of the Maharashtra PUCL and a former Vice-President of the National PUCL who passed away on March 10, 2006. Along with heading the ILS Law College, Professor Sathe was also a reputed author. He has been credited with contributing a number of articles to foreign and Indian legal journals.

Professor P.K. Tripathi, former Dean of Faculty of Law, Delhi University was also awarded the “Distinguished Law Teacher Award (posthumous)”. The honour was conferred on him by Union Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal.

Professor Tripathi was credited with modernizing Indian legal education and led the team that adopted and implemented recommendations by the Gajendragadkar Committee on Legal Education in 1964 at the Faculty of Law, Delhi University. The recommendations that were implemented changed the face of legal education in India and its effects are still seen in the present day. Recommendations like making the two year LL.B course into a 3 year course along with implementing the Socratic method of discussion were implemented with great dedication by the team led by him.

The SILF also held a national symposium on “Ethical Lawyering: Role of Law schools.” The symposium focused on issues and concerns related to the codes of ethics. The Role of Law Schools in Teaching Ethics was a special accompanying event.

The keynote speakers at the event included Solicitor-General and Bar Council of India Chairman, Gopal Subramanium and Member of Parliament and Supreme Court Bar Association President, Ram Jethmalani.