Indian Council for Legal Education (ICLE) & National Accreditation Agency for Legal Education (NAALE): For Development of Legal Education in India and for Amelioration of Prevailing Afflictions in the Field

Abstract

Law, being a professional field, education in law has to be reckoned as Professional Education. The unique genre, has been suffering lack of proper direction since the British period in India. Both the regulating agencies, the University Grants Commission (UGC) and Bar Council of India (BCI) have failed to bring desired improvements to the field. The National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC), without developing appropriate exclusive parameters for law, (mis-)accredits law colleges/universities applying common parameters for general institutions. The cumulative result is the prevailing deplorable conditions in legal education. Several important Committees, Commissions etc., from pre- and post-independence periods, have been highlighting existing lacunae in education in law and have recommended measures for improvements. In this context, this paper argues the case for establishing two independent national authorities- Indian Council for Legal Education (ICLE) and National Accreditation Agency for Legal Education (NAALE) - for ameliorating afflictions pervading Indian legal education.