THERE is an urgent need to reform legal education in Bangladesh and standardise it up to the global demand. A standard legal education could contribute to an effective legal and judicial system in a country.
The legal education needs to be linked with human security. We should also focus on how we could make the legal and judicial system pro-people through intervention in related education. A sound legal system could contribute in building confidence in the society.
This has been viewed and recommended at a workshop on Teaching Law organised by the South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS) at its conference room in the city on Monday, 20 December, 2010.
The workshop urged to make legal education practical incorporating clinical legal education (CLE) among others. It also urged for active initiative of Bar Council to standardize the legal education and profession in the country.
Dr. Kamal Hossian, eminent jurist and Chairperson of SAILS, while speaking at the workshop, underscored the need for a model institution for legal education in the country.
“We need to initiate such a legal and human rights education, which will be producing socially-responsive lawyers and judges,” Dr. Hossain said.
He observed that legal professionals could be agents of change for a society and nation. He urged for active role of the National Human Rights Commission to protect and promote rights of the vulnerable and marginalised groups of the society like the garments workers and slum dwellers. Urging upon government's initiatives, Dr. Hossain questioned: “Why people would live at slums after 40 years of independence?”
Referring to rehabilitation of city's slum dwellers, Dr. Hossain regretted that even after having directives from the higher judiciary people are deprived of their rights.
He urged law teachers to make their students more sensitized and skilled enough to take up human rights works and judicial activism.
Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Chairman of National Human Rights Commission (NHRC); Professor M. Shah Alam, Chairman of Law Commission; Professor Zakir Hossain, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Chittagong and Member Judicial Service Commission; Professor Dr. Yubaraj Sangroula, Executive Director of Kathmandu School of Law (KSL); Dr. Naim Ahmed, Advocate, Supreme Court of Bangladesh, and Dr. Uttam Kumar Das, Deputy Director of SAILS conducted different sessions. Dr. Sharif Bhuiyan, Member, Governing Council of SAILS gave vote of thanks.
Professor Shah Alam, Chairman of the Law Commission recommended for a Legal Education Council in the country to look after the existing legal education and find a way for its reform. In this regard, he also mentioned about the study undertaken and submitted by the Law Commission to the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs 15 years back.
Professor Dr. Mizanur Rahman, Chairman of NHRC said that human beings must be at the centre point of any legal education. He recommended for such a legal education which would produce pro-people lawyers and judges.
Professor Dr. Yubaraj Sngroula, Executive Director of KSL urged young legal academics to take teaching as a mission. He observed that each and every one could be an agent of change.
Professor Zakir Hossain, Dean, Faculty of Law, University of Chittagong and Member, Judicial Service Commission appreciated SAILS for organizing such workshop, first of its kind in the country. He hoped that this initiative could contribute to introduce a socially-responsive legal education in the country. The workshop was attended by 26 teachers from law schools at Dhaka and Chittagong.
SAILS would organise two regional seminars on 'Ethics in Legal Profession' and 'Legal Education in South Asia' on 15 and 16 January, 2011 respectively in Dhaka.
Source: South Asian Institute of Advanced Legal and Human Rights Studies (SAILS).