OPEN LETTER TO CHAIRMAN, BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA
Dear Mr. Subramaniam,
Recent media reports(Hindustan Times, 03/05/10) suggest that the Bar Council of India is introducing a qualifying bar examination from September,2010.
We are writing this mail to draw your attention to some of the concerns of final year law students on the introduction of the bar examination in July-August,2010. As responsible law students and soon to be members of the bar we do not wish to question this reform, which is in the interest of the country and has wide support of the legal community. Even the Supreme Court of India has backed this step in Bar Council of India v. Bonnie Foi Law College. We feel such a step is necessary to regulate the quality of legal education in India and to meet the challenges posed by the demand for quality legal services due to globalization and rapid growth of the Indian economy.
Our concerns are as follows:
- The conduct of these exams in September will mean that final year students seeking enrollment with the bar will have no opportunity to prepare for the same, as till date neither the examination nor the syllabus for the same has been notified.
- Since Final year law students will get limited time for preparation many of them may not qualify, they will remain unemployed for a year and in a competitive job market the long-term impact on their careers could be disastrous.
- Law students who have received job offers contingent on their registration with the bar will be adversely affected as they will not be able to join their future employers.
- Law schools with three year law courses like University of Delhi will be subject of discrimination as most National Law School students would pass their exams and enroll with the bar by May/June itself, while students of University of Delhi and other law faculties will get their results of their final term examinations only in July/August.
- The examination may not be conducted efficiently and fairly in a hurried manner and the failure of the first bar exam will be unfortunate and may jeopardize the public support for the exam.
We would request you to ensure that in order to give a fair chance to law students who have not had notice of this exam, such law students may be admitted to the bar subject to their clearing the Bar Examination in 2010 or at the next attempt 2011. In this way final year law students will get a fair chance at the exam and their careers would be safe guarded.
The essence of the constitutional guarantee of Art.14 is non-arbitrariness. This decision announced at the fag end of the academic session does not give a fair chance to final year law students. Further it disrupts employment contracts entered into much prior to the announcement of this decision. This decision will jeopardize the careers of not only those who may fail any prospective exam but even of those who will pass it, as they maybe unable to secure the support of their prospective employers to wait till September to take them on board.
We trust that you shall consider our concerns and make a reasonable exception and admit law students to the bar in June/July/August subject to their passing the exam in September 2010 or September 2011.
We hope that the macro concerns of implementing this policy will not cause you to overlook the micro concerns of final year law students, who are now anxious about their future.
We entrust our future to you.
Sincerely
Collective of Final Year Law Students
Comments
Having said that, I dont understand the bit about third year students being discriminated.
Down the line - many of your life's challenges will come unannounced. No point whining. To succeed, you just have to take them on. Statements like "We entrust our future to you" sound so fake. Com'on, are you so helpless??
Legal Dodo
@ #2 - what u say is fair enough, BUT too much of gyaan on failure funda dude. Every1 knows what you are saying but how many want to fail and learn :P
"Down the line - many of your life's challenges will come unannounced. No point whining." - I think they are not whining ... its just a strategy.
Second, it has to happen some year and its a good step..but it should at least be announced well in advance so that one students can prepare and two prospective employers can hire accordingly.
Just because someone is in a hurry to push this thru doesn't mean it should be done arbitrarily.
If this decision had been announced back in September it would have been welcome but to do it now is unfair.
Tell me Mr. Legal Dodo sir, do you prepare for your briefs or just rely on your experience?
Must we become the lambs to be slaughtered for the good of the legal community.
Why did they not announce this exam at the beginning of the academic session?
Will nobody in the legal community stand up for us?
(we mean no disrespect to the particular faith from which this story is borrowed, it just fits!)
other than the Acting Secretary of the BCI via e-mail.
Can someone send this out to Mr. Subramaniam please?
@1 @4 @ 6Thank you for your support.
@5 we dont want to focus on the question of whether the amendment is required to bring in the exam. We don't want to get in the way of the exam we just want a fair chance.
There are two sides of each coin so there will be some negative parts as well. At the same time, I will say wait and watch game!!
Yah, I am sure, it wont be handle in a good manner. They wont be able to conduct exams regularly atleast. Who will conduct exams? when & how, they will conduct exams when 1 will pass out on 20th april and one passes out on 20th may. how can you stop (20th April guy) to wait for next exam date which may be near (may guy). It will be a big discrimination!!
but anyway till it is not officially out as a rule of bar council, we shall wait. just relax and dont worry. it will be an easy exam guys....they cant make it so tough even they need lawyers in India ;).
Trust me, good students/avg students or who wants to be a lawyer , they will pass...
dont worry friends
gyan
Signed: A law schoolite who is confident about her legal acumen and basic legal knowledge.
A lot of people are mixing up lose and loose, @ #13,In particular, has written "loose" when he/she meant mean 'lose'.
Further the name states NLIU.Is this an example of the general ignorance of English in this university?
Here are the definitions of the two words from the dictionary:
loose [lOOs] adj not fastened or pre-packed; not tied up or confined; able to move freely; not tight, not firmly fixed; not close-fitting; careless, inaccurate, vague; dissolute, immoral; not closely woven; flabby; (of bowels) inclined to diarrhoea; l. box stable or van in which an animal can move about; at a l. end uncertain what to do next; unoccupied ~ loose adv in a loose way; play fast and l. behave rashly or unscupulously ~ loose n release; on the l. free from restraint; on a spree; ~ loose v/t untie, undo; release from confinement or constraint, set free; detatch; fire (gun); shoot (arrow); (eccles) absolve.
lose (p/t and p/part lost) [lOOz] v/t and i no longer have; be deprived of by accident or misfortune; mislay, fail to find; fail to get or win; be too late for; be bereaved of; waste; be defeated or beaten; suffer loss, become worse off; fail to hear, see or understand; cause or allow to perish; (of clock or watch) go too slowly; (refl) miss the right path; become absorbed in; l. one's head become flustered, panic; l. one's temper grow angry; l. one's way fail to find the right path; l. out (US) be defeated after a struggle.
Examples:
This knot is too loose.
Please do not lose my book.
I had better not lose that file.
One way to remember the difference between the two words is to think that "lose has lost an 'o'".
u only c wat you want to c!Majority of the people do this & you are no different!
For eg.A positive person might have seen it as a typing mistake! But you wanted to prove your point that National products are a waste!so the argument!
If you are a student then i have a concert..The main issue will be deviated during the argument & you will be busy checkin spelling mistakes, punctuation etc n meanings ofcourse!
N if you are already an advocate with all due respect to your experience..MY EDUCATION IS NOT A WASTE!
@final year law student - i myself am a final year student from a national law university and i feel you are quite justified in the request. while i do now oppose the reform or even feel that the preparation time is too less, i do believe that there is very little to time to work out the modalities of the exam and be able to conduct it in an efficient manner. there are bound to be a lot of confusions and it will be difficult to hold it in such short notice. the sufferers will us.
@11 - yes yes we know you are very smart too and calling the letter 'badly drafted and plain stupid' is quite something when all you can come with is 'shove it'. it will be really appreciated if you act your age and address the issues pointed out in the letter in a logical manner rather than creating unnecessary rhetoric and asking people to behave their age when you clearly are not.
@nalsar grad - completely agree that it is next to impossible realistically for the exam to be able to be conducted this year. however, there is no harm in voicing our concerns with time on our hands. nevertheless, very sharp observation.
Let me explain this to you slowly: There will be bar exam. You will write bar exam. You may not be required to write also (yaay), if it is multiple choice. In which case, you have to take pencil and darken some circles. There may be squares also. That could be an issue for you if they dont tell you beforehand.
If you smart like me, you will pass. If you are not, then you wont pass. And not passing will be sad for you, but good for this country and for the justice system as a whole. Understood? Feel free to ask questions.
Seriously, its not that big a deal.
Yes, you won't have time to prepare Yes, its going to be rushed and hurried and possibly a little tough. Yes, its going to be so sad, if you LOSE out on three months salary if your law firm is stupid enough to think like that.
I'm a final year student, I've already been hired. And I've already started working. And you know what, SHOCKINGLY my firm actually has full faith in the fact that I'll clear the exam. Because thats what a smart person would think. If they've hired me to handle transactions involving crores of someone's money, they better have faith in me to pass a silly Bar exam!
For christ's sake, get over your whining and if you feel the need to, START STUDYING FOR THE EXAM NOW!
I have a concern which is specific to people who have been hired for training contracts in UK law firms... qualification into the Bar is mandatory for the experience to start counting. So if this September exam does happen (i wish to God that you guys are right about modalities, stay orders etc) people like me look to "lose" not just salary but more than 6 months of experience with potentially nothing to do at this last moment for those months.
Any thoughts on this, anyone?
This guy Anirban seems to be a huge "loser" with his brains "loose" from the connecting tissue....
I think thats a good way to remember the difference in usage...
Some provision for temporary enrollment based on certain contingencies and conditions may be made of which passing the BAR exam would hold top priority in addition to the other conditions that it may deem fit and appropriate.
I m failed to understand that why BCI itself is so confused .
I guess there is not even a single person in India who can give the clear position that whether final year law students passing this year have to give this exam or not.
Let me put following quiries:
1 Exam that is going to be held in december is for enrolment or for arguing counsel.
2 What about the status of writ filed by NUJS
3 Is the matter is finally disposed of by SC or still this issue is pending in any court
4 What is the response of GS on the various letters addresed to him.
And#34 please drop in a mail to