The Bar Council of India (BCI), the nation’s apex regulator for legal education, has mandated that all centers of legal education (CLEs) must integrate the new criminal laws enacted in July 2024 into their curriculum. This directive, communicated to CLEs, which encompass national law universities and private law colleges throughout India, aims to ensure that future legal professionals are well-equipped to navigate the intricacies of the revised legal framework.
The three new criminal laws, namely the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS), Bharatiya Nyay (Suraksha) Sanhita (BNSS), and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA), have superseded the Indian Penal Code, Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Evidence Act, respectively. These new laws signify a significant shift in the Indian legal landscape, introducing a range of modernizations, including the incorporation of technology in criminal prosecution.
The BCI, in its communication to CLE heads in May 2024, underscored the need for curriculum adjustments to incorporate these new laws. The focus extends beyond the traditional legal domains, emphasizing the importance of emerging fields such as blockchains, electronic discovery, cybersecurity, robotics, artificial intelligence, and bioethics in contemporary legal practice.
In addition to the integration of new criminal laws, the BCI has also mandated that all CLEs prioritize the training of mediation, a crucial out-of-court dispute resolution method, within their legal curriculum. While alternative dispute resolution has long been a compulsory subject in law schools across India, the focus has traditionally centered around arbitration, particularly the Arbitration and Conciliation Act. The BCI’s emphasis on mediation stems from the recent passage of the Mediation Act in 2023 and the upcoming establishment of the Mediation Council of India, which aims to standardize mediation procedures by the end of 2024.
The BCI’s directives extend to promoting bilingual methods of instruction, aiming to enhance the accessibility of legal education across various regions of India. The BCI conducts regular surprise inspections at CLEs to ensure adherence to legal education standards. Institutions failing to comply face penalties, as exemplified by the seven institutions barred from admitting new students for the 2024-25 academic year and subsequent years due to non-compliance.
