Asian Journal of Legal Education

Publisher:: Sage Publications, Inc.
Publication date:: 2021-10-06

ISBN:: 2322-0058

Issue Number

Latest documents

A Study of Legal Education Systems in Russia, India and Brazil: Issues and Suggestions for Global Education
Education is a crucial tool for bringing a positive change in society and for the growth of the economy. While talking about legal education, in particular, it has been imparted in all the nations in some form or other, and it is imperative to impart legal education properly to make the members of the society more civilized and stable. Legal education can play a vital role in bringing peace, justice and imparting human rights in society. However, there are numerous challenges that the education systems face all across the globe, and there is a need to look into these challenges for the growth of the society. The researchers in this article have provided a detailed analysis of the education systems in three different countries, that is, Russia, India and Brazil. The researchers have further discussed the issues and challenges in the legal education systems in these countries, and in the end, suggestions have been provided for bringing a change in the global education system.
Book review: Complete Contract Law. Authored by André Naidoo
Complete Contract Law. Authored by André Naidoo, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2021. pp. 692, £37.99. ISBN 9780198749868.
Protecting Coastal Environment in India: Reading Laws in the Context of Climate Change
The oceans’ role in maintaining the climate of this planet is unquestionably vital. But today, the fine balance in ocean chemistry is dangerously upset by the global warming, leading to more warmer oceans and a continuous rise in sea level across the globe. With that comes the threat to marine lives and ecosystems. India has a 7,516.6 km long coastline which is the home to many marginal poor communities who mainly survive on the ocean resources. Alongside, the adjacent marine environment contains an astounding array of biodiversity, harbouring innumerable species with ecological and commercial significance. However, Indian coastal regions are also not spared from the ill effects of climate change. The condition is frightening enough as the lives of hundreds and thousands of people living at the coast are at critical risk, along with the possibility of irreparable loss of biodiversity. India, thus far, has offered a fragmented conservation methodology for its coastal regions. The laws, regulations and policies that matter most in their current forms lack synergy and clear insight. This article tracks those ambiguities and advances a central argument that India needs to put in place an inclusive climate strategy without further eroding environmental laws that play a key role in conserving its coastal and marine environment.
Teaching and Engaging Adult Law Learners in a Singapore Business Law Class—A Reflection of Legal Teaching Strategies
In an environment that aims to promote lifelong and adult learning, legal education needs to be acutely aware of the different skill and learning aptitudes among adult students as well as their motivation and interest. I present a case study of a first-year undergraduate law course, law of business organisation, at the Singapore University of Social Sciences where I used various adult teaching techniques, a strategy of gamification, and digital tools to engage and spark an interest in my law classroom. Overall, students have found the approach successful in cultivating their interests and developing their practical skills. The findings speak to broader concepts of active engagement and developing their practical knowledge to aid law students in their learning and future careers. Albert Einstein once said that ‘it is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge’.2 The article is divided into five parts, the first part provides an overview of the pedagogy of adult teaching and learning, the second part provides an overview of generic curriculum approaches at the law school, the third part covers the tailored approach to teach adult learners, the fourth part examines in further detail specific teaching methods for a business law module which I am course leader for, and the fifth part explores the effectiveness of these teaching methods.
What Happens After Graduation? The Post-Law School Experiences and Reflections of Aotearoa, New Zealand Law Graduates
From 2014 to 2019, a national, longitudinal study followed a group of self-selected law students enrolled at four of the six Aotearoa New Zealand law schools. This paper presents study participants’ self-reported post-law school reflections and experiences. These provide insight as to how participants’ time at law school served them after graduation. Reported data include participants’ work experiences, future career plans and reflections on their law school experience. The data is unique in that it captures the postgraduation experiences and reflections of a cohort which includes not only those who are employed in the legal profession but also those who are not. Key findings are largely positive self-reported post-law school outcomes for Aotearoa New Zealand law graduates, but that Aotearoa New Zealand law schools have work to do review and/or improve the delivery of the learning and teaching experiences leading to those outcomes. The reported data give law teachers, law schools and universities new information to consider and use in course and programme development and reviews. It will also be of interest to prospective and current law students and their families, employers of law graduates and the legal profession.
National Education Policy 2020 and Challenges to the Bar Council of India
Every field of higher education, including the arts, social sciences, physical sciences, technology, and law, as well as every form of education, whether general, professional, or technical, has something to ‘take’ from the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. This is the first time in the history of the National Education Policy that legal education is referenced within the context of higher education. All stand-alone universities, such as National Law Universities, must be turned into multidisciplinary universities under Policy 2020. By 2030, all institutions that provide professional or general education will strive to organically evolve into institutions that provide both fluidly and integrated manner. The Policy called for the complete abolition of the affiliation system and the conversion of affiliated institutions into either constituent colleges of the university under the direct management and control of the university or autonomous multidisciplinary degree conferring colleges, or for a few affiliated colleges to be bundled together through mergers and acquisitions and then converted into either autonomous institutions or universities, and affiliated colleges in phase manner will be converted into autonomous colleges. Under the NEP 2020, there will be a single regulatory structure for all forms of education, with the exception of medical and legal education. However, the Policy did not establish or mention a distinct regulator for law and medicine. Whereas the National Medical Commission (NMC), the successor to the Medical Council of India, was established to regulate medical education, the Bar Council of India (BCI) was established by the Advocates Act solely to establish a professional body for practising advocates (Bar Council of India and States). If the BCI is to function as a regulatory body for legal education, it must walk a mile in order to implement the NEP 2020 for all stages of legal education, undergraduate, postgraduate, and research studies, as well as for all types of education, academic, professional, and clinical skill learning. Assuming that the deadline specified in the NEP 2020 is final and that a new shape of education is required under the NEP, BCI will need to emphasize what needs to be done and then how such changes in all levels can be accomplished within the timeframe!
Book review: Thinking about Clinical Legal Education: Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives. Edited by Omar Madhloom and Hugh McFaul
Thinking about Clinical Legal Education: Philosophical and Theoretical Perspectives. Edited by Omar Madhloom and Hugh McFaul, Routledge, London, 2021. pp. 284 (Hardback), £100.00 ISBN 9780367273491, (eBook), £29.59 ISBN 9780429299247.
Book review: Socio-Legal Research: Theory and Methodology, P.P. Mitra
Socio-Legal Research: Theory and Methodology, P.P. Mitra, Thomson Reuters South Asia Private Limited, India, 2021 pp. xxiv + 181. Price ₹400, ISBN 978-819-47-7232-3.
Teaching and Engaging Adult Law Learners in a Singapore Business Law Class—A Reflection of Legal Teaching Strategies
In an environment that aims to promote lifelong and adult learning, legal education needs to be acutely aware of the different skill and learning aptitudes among adult students as well as their motivation and interest. I present a case study of a first-year undergraduate law course, law of business organisation, at the Singapore University of Social Sciences where I used various adult teaching techniques, a strategy of gamification, and digital tools to engage and spark an interest in my law classroom. Overall, students have found the approach successful in cultivating their interests and developing their practical skills. The findings speak to broader concepts of active engagement and developing their practical knowledge to aid law students in their learning and future careers. Albert Einstein once said that ‘it is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge’.2 The article is divided into five parts, the first part provides an overview of the pedagogy of adult teaching and learning, the second part provides an overview of generic curriculum approaches at the law school, the third part covers the tailored approach to teach adult learners, the fourth part examines in further detail specific teaching methods for a business law module which I am course leader for, and the fifth part explores the effectiveness of these teaching methods.
Book review: Complete Contract Law. Authored by André Naidoo
Complete Contract Law. Authored by André Naidoo, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2021. pp. 692, £37.99. ISBN 9780198749868.