ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (APP):Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday said the government would continue taking all necessary measures to improve legal education, describing it as the foundation of the justice system and stressing that its quality directly affected the Bar and the Bench. Addressing the launching ceremony of the Annual Report of the Directorate of Legal Education of the Pakistan Bar Council, the minister …
Law minister vows further steps to improve legal education
ISLAMABAD, Sep 10 (APP):Federal Minister for Law and Justice Senator Azam Nazeer Tarar on Thursday said the government would continue taking all necessary measures to improve legal education, describing it as the foundation of the justice system and stressing that its quality directly affected the Bar and the Bench.
Addressing the launching ceremony of the Annual Report of the Directorate of Legal Education of the Pakistan Bar Council, the minister said several reforms had already been introduced to address longstanding issues in legal education.
He said evening law courses had been abolished to curb substandard and “ghost” admissions in law colleges, while the Law-GAT had been introduced to improve the standard of students entering the legal profession.
Senator Tarar said that after his election as a member of the Pakistan Bar Council in 2010, he had been given the responsibility of Chairman of its Legal Education Committee, following which efforts were undertaken to introduce reforms in the sector.
He said numerous issues had emerged in law colleges over the past 15 years. While several private institutions had performed well after legal education shifted from the public to private sector, the weakening of regulatory oversight had also contributed to various problems.
The minister said a decision was taken in 2022-23 requiring every law college to share student data with the Pakistan Bar Council, while degrees of institutions failing to provide the required data would not be registered.
He said a five-year LLB programme had initially been introduced to bring legal education in Pakistan in line with international standards, which was subsequently reduced to four years in view of international requirements and competitiveness.
Chairman Executive Committee of the Pakistan Bar Council Munir Malik said the Directorate of Legal Education had been established pursuant to a Supreme Court order. He said the Directorate had reduced the legal education programme from five years to four years and had also held meetings with the Higher Education Commission for further improvement.
Director Directorate of Legal Education Barrister Usama Malik said the reform process was aimed at better preparing future entrants to the legal profession to serve the justice system.
He said the ultimate objective of the ongoing reforms was to leave behind a stronger institution and a better system for future generations.
The ceremony was attended by President Supreme Court Bar Association of Pakistan Haroon Rashid, PBC members Saqib Gondal, Rizwan Abbasi and Hassan Raza Pasha, Vice Chairman Islamabad Bar Council Asif Irfan, senior members of the legal fraternity and other distinguished guests.
