Techno Legal Skill Development In India

Indian has tremendous workforce but the same required a good practical training as well as skill development exercises. Various studies and research in India have suggested that out of the educated masses only 15 to 25% are fit for being absorbed at job places. This ratio equally applies to legal professionals in India perhaps with a much lower percentage.

The present legal educational system of India is in dire need of reforms. In the name of legal education reform the Bar Council of India (BCI) and Law Minister Veerappa Moily have imposed bar examination upon law graduates that has neither a scientific rationale nor a fair and reasonable handling on the part of both.

Legal education in India has to be at par with international norms and standards. Presently legal education of India is lagging far behind than the required benchmark. This is because India is concentrating too much upon academic studies and almost nothing upon practical training and skill development of lawyers and judges.

India needs urgent educational and legal reforms that must be undertaken as soon as possible. One such area that requires urgent attention is the amalgamation of legal education with information and communication technology (ICT). Presently, there are very few organisations that are using ICT for legal education in India.

Both BCI and Moily have failed to appreciate that legal education has now become techno legal where a legal professional must be aware of both technical as well as legal fields. However, there is a dearth of techno legal institutions that provide legal lifelong learning. One such institution that provides techno legal lifelong learning (TLLL) is managed by Perry4Law Techno Legal Base (PTLB).

At the same time there is also a dire need to have institutions that can provide good continuing legal education in India (CLE in India). PTLB covers both traditional legal fields as well as contemporary techno legal fields.

In short, India is running short of institutions that can impart good techno-legal skill development education, training and coaching. The BCI and Law Minister Moily must address these issues as soon as possible.

ADR Must Be Used As An Alternative To Litigation

Law Minister Veerappa Moily has recently announced the National Litigation Policy of India. It has many great reforms and if implemented in a timely and appropriate manner would go a long way in reducing the backlog of cases in India.

However, the policy is deficient in one crucial aspect. It failed to utilise the benefits of information and communication technology (ICT) for reducing the backlog of cases in India. Two most prominent use of ICT for reducing the arrears of cases in India are the use of e-courts in India and adoption of online dispute resolution (ODR) in India.

Till India is not ready for the use of ICT for legal and judicial purposes, we must concentrate upon using alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods like arbitration, mediation, etc.

Adoption of use of ICT for legal and judicial purposes would not only reduce the arrears of cases but would also bring ADR business to India. India can become a hub for ADR and ODR services provided we must change the legal system and law in this regard.

There is an emergent need of amending the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 as soon as possible so that international commercial disputes can be resolved through international commercial arbitration in India.

The amendment procedure is already in the process and it would be a good idea if provisions regarding e-courts and ODR are also incorporated in the same.