Bar council members setting law school curriculum a tragedy: Kerala High Court judge Justice A Muhamed Mustaque

The fact that the syllabus for LLB course is set by bar council members is the biggest tragedy facing legal education in the country since the domain knowledge of such persons is limited to litigation, Kerala High Court judge Justice A Muhamed Mustaque said on Sunday..Justice Mustaque pointed out that bar council members are only a small section of lawyers who happen to get elected. "Bar council members are dictating the syllabus. This is the biggest tragedy we are facing in India. The minuscule number of people get elected through an election decide about legal education. They are only litigation professionals. Their domain of knowledge is only litigation and then they dictate the syllabus This is the biggest challenge we are facing in India. They don't have any idea what is happening beyond litigation," Justice Mustaque commented.This small section, who mostly have little knowledge outside of litigation, end up setting the entire syllabus taught to law students in law colleges across the country, he said."[Law] Colleges have no autonomy to decide their curriculum. If they don't follow the curriculum dictated by the Bar Council, necessarily they will face some penal action and their course will not be recognised," he added..Justice Mustaque was speaking at the launch of a mentoring initiative called 'Juris Trailblazers', which is aimed at helping law students navigate their career opportunities and develop the skills required for their future. Dr. Giri Shankar, a retired professor of the Government Law College Ernakulam is behind the project that was launched online on Sunday morning. Justice Mustaque, in his inaugural address, opined that the initiative was the need of the hour"Why is mentoring necessary these days? That is the real question. Unlike the past - when we had great minds in the legal profession, especially in litigation, where people could guide youngsters, not necessarily by constant engagement or deliberation but through following their footsteps, one could easily fall into their track. But today, the legal profession has altogether changed ... In such a situation, the only way for us to guide you is through constant engagement ... Legal mentoring is the need of the time ... A platform like this will bridge that gap," he explained..The judge elaborated on the sea change in the legal profession saying that it is globalisation and technological advancements that are responsible for the same. "In terms of mentoring, we need to understand how the world is being shaped, what are the changes taking place across the globe. If you (law students) are not able to respond to those changes, then that is a failure on our part as members," he added..The mentoring platform Juris Trailblazers aims to aid in the capacity development of law students, in both curricular and co-curricular activities. It is aimed to assist students in taking career decisions and to streamline their priorities in identifying and accomplishing goals. Another objective is to hone legal research and writing skills and to translate that into publications. Further, the initiative seeks to widen opportunities for law students by promoting acquaintance and association with institutions and eminent persons in the legal field. .Soon after the event, the Bar Council of India (BCI) issued a press release condemning Justice Mustaque's statements about the regulation of legal education by the BCI.Read more here.