The Hindu : New Delhi News : Centre for legal education mooted

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Wednesday, Nov 07, 2007
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New Delhi

New Delhi

Centre for legal education mooted

Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI: A common centre for SAARC (South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation) countries should be set up for research and training in the field of legal education in the region, said a resolution adopted by the participants at a regional conference here.

At the SAARC Regional Conference on Legal Education that concluded on Monday, delegates from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan and Nepal identified some of the common problems facing the legal education system in the region.

They also underscored the need for setting up a South Asian Law School Forum as a common platform for law schools, colleges and faculties to meet the challenges in this field.

The conference was organised by the University School of Law and Legal Studies (USLLS) at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University.

The participants discussed various issues like the teaching methods, infrastructural facilities, financial resources, academic freedom, relations between law schools/faculties with the bar and bench, research initiatives, teachers’ training, evaluation system, curriculum design, nature of practical training for students and placements.

“The conference was an attempt to understand our own region. During the brainstorming we realised that there was so much ignorance about different systems in different countries and there are many areas where we can collaborate,” said USLLS Dean M. Afzal Wani at a press conference. The delegates acknowledged that “governments as well as the universities of the South Asian region are yet to fully understand the significance of legal education for promoting rule of law and democracy”.

The delegates also felt that since public law schools and colleges are mostly dependent on government grants, it affects their academic independence. There was also a perception that “political instability” in the region had hindered efforts to address various problems.

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