Necessity of establishing law university in Bangladesh

Understanding the necessity and scope of law, many countries of the world including our neighbouring country India have established law universities

‘Ignorance of law is of no excuse’ is a legal principle frequently said to reflect the necessity and impact of law on human life in respect of state obligation. This universal principle implies that even a layman who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for infringing that law merely because s/he was ignorant of its content. Thus, law makes people conscious reminding the sense of duty in every country. It is needless to mention the pioneering role of law for mankind to lead a disciplined life paving the way for social order, peace and harmony. Punishing the culprits and awarding the victims is not the sole purpose of law rather law serves human being from cradle to grave. Inevitable role of law is perceived since the dawn human civilization and the role of law ranging to national to international arena is getting expedited with the advent of cutting age technological advancement. However, legal education in Bangladesh is growing gradually. Before the commencement of private university law education in the country was rendered by few public universities along with some law colleges. Since the inception of private university in 1992, there has been a revolution in the privatization of higher education in the country with 98 private universities. Question may arise regarding the quality of education in many private universities but the quantity of students here has outnumbered 38public universities. Few external programs under British universities are also engaged in graduating law students. Only 10 public universities out of 38 public universities has law department while most of the private universities has law department. Though there is enough debate regarding quality of education in many private universities, but it is true that many students are fulfilling their cherished dream after getting opportunity to study in law in private universities.

At present, there are 4-year Bachelor of Laws and 1-year Master of Laws degrees are available to law students in the country. Some public universities are also offering MPhil and PhD degrees for law graduates. But, public university teachers are so engaged in diverse consultancy, teaching in private universities, and the remuneration for supervision of MPhil and PhD students is so poor which halts the ambition of law graduates to pursue further higher degrees like MPhil and PhD. Public universities are autonomous with separate laws for their regulation while the private universities are lacking autonomy and are regulated under the Private University Act, 2010.Those who complete graduation and post-graduation degree in law from public university get opportunity to obtain higher degree MPhil and PhD in same or other public university but the students of private universities has no such opportunity. Nonetheless, a law student, after completing graduation degree, get opportunity to be an assistant judge after passing the examination conducted by Bangladesh Judicial Services Commission. No students except discipline of law can appear in that examination which is special opportunity for law students. On the other hand, law students can also appear in BCS examination along with students of other discipline. The law students also have the opportunity to be Barrister and Advocate. Besides, there are many other opportunities available for a law graduate to build up bright careers in different sectors like Academia, Banking, Insurance, NGOs, INGOs, Research firms etc.
Reflecting on the necessity and scope of law, many countries of the world including our neighboring country India have established Law Universities along with other specialized subject based universities. In our country also, many specialized universities like Agriculture University, Medical University, Engineering and Technology University have already been established. But it is matter of regret that in spite of inevitable necessity and significance of law, no Law University has been established in Bangladesh. In India, study and research in law discipline are going on under the institute of different universities and Law Colleges. Number of such institutes and colleges are not less than hundreds. Along with the aforementioned institute and college, Law University has also been established in different state of India to enlarge creative legal education. Specifically, at least 25-30 Law Universities have been established in New Delhi, BishakhaPattom, Hyderabad, Patna, Roypur, Gandhinagar, Bengalore, Cochin, Tripaal, Puna, Chandigar, Madras, Kolkata and other cities. Those universities are providing qualified education to the nation. Relatively, it has been must for Bangladesh to create opportunity for creative legal education. But establishing such type of university depends on government initiatives. It is need to remember for everyone including government that creative legal education can uphold the disciplinary life for the nation. Here in these circumstances, effective initiatives for establishing Law University in the country must be taken from state mechanism.

The writer is an Associate Professor, Department of Law, Daffodil International University; International Member of Amnesty International. 
E-mail: [email protected]

Necessity of establishing law university in Bangladesh

Understanding the necessity and scope of law, many countries of the world including our neighbouring country India have established law universities

Ignorance of law is of no excuse is a legal principle frequently said to reflect the necessity and impact of law on human life in respect of state obligation. This universal principle implies that even a layman who is unaware of a law may not escape liability for infringing that law merely because s/he was ignorant of its content. Thus, law makes people conscious reminding the sense of duty in every country. It is needless to mention the pioneering role of law for mankind to lead a disciplined life paving the way for social order, peace and harmony. Punishing the culprits and awarding the victims is not the sole purpose of law rather law serves human being from cradle to grave. Inevitable role of law is perceived since the dawn human civilization and the role of law ranging to national to international arena is getting expedited with the advent of cutting age technological advancement. However, legal education in Bangladesh is growing gradually. Before the commencement of private university law education in the country was rendered by few public universities along with some law colleges. Since the inception of private university in 1992, there has been a revolution in the privatization of higher education in the country with 98 private universities. Question may arise regarding the quality of education in many private universities but the quantity of students here has outnumbered 38public universities. Few external programs under British universities are also engaged in graduating law students. Only 10 public universities out of 38 public universities has law department while most of the private universities has law department. Though there is enough debate regarding quality of education in many private universities, but it is true that many students are fulfilling their cherished dream after getting opportunity to study in law in private universities. At present, there are 4-year Bachelor of Laws and 1-year Master of Laws degrees are available to law students in the country. Some public universities are also offering MPhil and PhD degrees for law graduates. But, public university teachers are so engaged in diverse consultancy, teaching in private universities, and the remuneration for supervision of MPhil and PhD students is so poor which halts the ambition of law graduates to pursue further higher degrees like MPhil and PhD. Public universities are autonomous with separate laws for their regulation while the private universities are lacking autonomy and are regulated under the Private University Act, 2010.Those who complete graduation and post-graduation degree in law from public university get opportunity to obtain higher degree MPhil and PhD in same or other public university but the students of private universities has no such opportunity. Nonetheless, a law student, after completing graduation degree, get opportunity to be an assistant judge after passing the examination conducted by Bangladesh Judicial Services Commission. No students except discipline of law can appear in that examination which is special opportunity for law students. On the other hand, law students can also appear in BCS examination along with students of other discipline. The law students also have the opportunity to be Barrister and Advocate. Besides, there are many other opportunities available for a law graduate to build up bright careers in different sectors like Academia, Banking, Insurance, NGOs, INGOs, Research firms etc. Reflecting on the necessity and scope of law, many countries of the world including our neighboring country India have established Law Universities along with other specialized subject based universities. In our country also, many specialized universities like Agriculture University, Medical University, Engineering and Technology University have already been established. But it is matter of regret that in spite of inevitable necessity and significance of law, no Law University has been established in Bangladesh. In India, study and research in law discipline are going on under the institute of different universities and Law Colleges. Number of such institutes and colleges are not less than hundreds. Along with the aforementioned institute and college, Law University has also been established in different state of India to enlarge creative legal education. Specifically, at least 25-30 Law Universities have been established in New Delhi, BishakhaPattom, Hyderabad, Patna, Roypur, Gandhinagar, Bengalore, Cochin, Tripaal, Puna, Chandigar, Madras, Kolkata and other cities. Those universities are providing qualified education to the nation. Relatively, it has been must for Bangladesh to create opportunity for creative legal education. But establishing such type of university depends on government initiatives. It is need to remember for everyone including government that creative legal education can uphold the disciplinary life for the nation. Here in these circumstances, effective initiatives for establishing Law University in the country must be taken from state mechanism. The writer is an Associate Professor, Department of Law, Daffodil International University; International Member of Amnesty International. E-mail: [email protected]