National Conference On Justice Education Held At ILNU [10th – 11th Nov]

Institute of Law, Nirma University (ILNU) inaugurated the second edition of the two-day National Conference on Justice Education (NCJE) on Friday. The event was graced by the presence of Prof NR Madhava Menon, renowned academician and revolutionary of modern legal education; Justice Mohan Pieris, former Chief Justice of Sri Lanka; Anup K Singh, Director General Nirma University; KK Patel, Vice President Nirma University, and dignitaries likes Usha Ramanathan, expert on law and poverty; Prof VC Vivekanandan, MHRD IP-Chair Professor; Sumeet Mailk, Director, Eastern Book Company; Yogesh Batra, Retd Commissioner, Income Tax Department, and Prof Jyotsnaben Yagnik, former principal judge, Ahmedabad City Civil and Sessions Court.

Keynote speaker Justice Pieris focussed on global malaise of deliverance in legal education with giving the concept of 4 ‘R’s i.e. Reform in method of teaching and legal drafting, Rethink the purpose with which legal education was started, Redesign the architecture of education towards justice education and Remodel the policy of imparting education in students all over South Asia. Prof NR Madhava Menon talked about framing of well-intentioned legislations and a change in study of law, focussing specifically in degree of humanism, social justice and equality of all before law as the principle imbibed originally from the Constitution of India. He also added that “we should reflect on the process imparting redundant process of legal education at institutions where a law student at the start motivated to learn legal education aiming justice for all ends up narrowing it to a knowledgeable graduate only committed to clients”. The guests also congratulated ILNU for being among the very few law schools across the globe to reassess the legal education and moving step forward towards justice education.

 The national conference had two parallel events focusing on the recent legislative advances and need for innovation in law pedagogy to keep up with the pace these developments. The theme of the national conference was “Developing New Perspectives on Law reforms and Legal Education”. Papers were presented on themes from working on the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Codes to the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), from holding the practice of triple talaq illegal to giving the Right to Privacy a constitutional protection.