Asian Journal of Legal Education

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

ISBN:: 2322-0058

Issue Number

No. 12-1, January 2025

Latest documents

Price Control Policies for Medicines: How Far the Accessibility Is Achieved by Patients?
The price control legislations are the main policy tool used in India to make medicines accessible. It is important to understand the real impact of these interventionist policies on patients’ lives. The objective of the article is centred on understanding the effectiveness of price interventionist policy to reduce the out-of-pocket expenditure of patients. The article examines whether the ability to pay by patients is considered or linked while fixing the prices after regulation. The article focuses on the direct price control and trade margin rationalization imposed on drugs to increase accessibility. The article deliberates the drugs under both price regulations to check how significant are the price reduction and how it would reduce the inequity among the patients.
Integrating the Sustainable Development Goals into India’s Legal Education Landscape: The What, Why and How of a Reform Paradigm
In this era of the Anthropocene, where four of the nine planetary boundaries have been crossed, the need for environmental stewardship, social equity and sustainability cannot be over-emphasized. So critical is the sustainability discourse that it has transcended disciplinary boundaries, permeating various aspects and sectors of human endeavour. A critical area where sustainability, as evidenced by the sustainable development goals (SDGs) framework, exerts influence is higher education and, more importantly, legal education. This article examines the intersection between sustainability (SDGs), human rights and legal education. It makes a case that if legal education, like other disciplines, has to propel the pursuit of a more liveable and equitable future, it is imperative to embed sustainability (SDGs) within legal education’s academic landscape. This central theme is examined against India’s legal education scenario. While there are a few isolated attempts to foster a culture of sustainability within the realm of legal academia in India, among these, the efforts of Jindal Global University and its law school, namely, Jindal Global Law School, stand out due to their steadfast commitment to this ideal. Jindal Global University (JGU) and Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) have strategically positioned sustainability as a foundational tenet of their institutional ethos, and their endeavours serve as a compelling example for institutions in India and elsewhere seeking to elevate their commitment to sustainability. Accordingly, based on the proactive initiatives of JGU and JGLS, this article develops a reform paradigm centred on what, why and how to revamp India’s legal education sector to infuse it with a sustainable culture.
The Case for Nurturing AI Literacy in Law Schools
The debate surrounding the permissibility of generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools in legal education has garnered widespread attention. However, this discourse has largely oscillated between the advantages and disadvantages of generative AI usage whilst failing to fully consider how the uptake of these tools relates to the fundamental objectives of legal education. This article contributes to the current debate by positing that since the primary aim of legal education is the preparation of legal professionals and the development of legal research, generative AI must be holistically integrated into the dominant approaches to legal teaching. This stems from the fact that the legal profession will increasingly rely on generative AI in its daily work. Therefore, AI literacy will emerge as a critical professional skill in the legal realm. Against this background, this article further argues that the integration of AI into the legal curriculum should be addressed by diversifying assessment strategies, emphasizing the importance of academic integrity and making resources on the ethical use of AI available to both students and academic staff in law schools.
Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Migrant Workers’ Human Rights in India
The COVID-19 epidemic accentuated the pre-existing vulnerability of migrant workers in India, hence centralizing the causes of social and economic disturbances brought about by lockdowns.3 Often working in the informal sector without social safety nets, migrant workers had great difficulties, including loss of livelihood, lack of access to basic healthcare, poor accommodation and movement limitations. Many of them were left stranded or unable to satisfy basic requirements, so these difficulties seriously affected their rights and social inclusion. This article explores the several struggles migrant workers went through during the epidemic and how it impacted their human rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of India. This article also emphasizes the need of building strong and inclusive systems to guarantee that, in the next crises, the welfare and rights of migrant workers are preserved.
Educating for Social Justice Lawyering and Community Legal Empowerment: Learnings from India and Bangladesh
The access to justice crisis is severe in India and Bangladesh. Both of these countries have enormous unmet legal needs. To ensure access to justice, three components need to be fulfilled: The existence of a legal institutional framework, awareness among citizens regarding this framework and its processes and citizens’ effective access to them. The state is obligated to ensure that there is access to justice, especially for the poor sections of society. Law schools have an important role to play in providing solutions to this crisis. Clinical legal education (CLE) programmes in law schools, with their mission of providing skill-based training to law students, and legal services to underserved communities are well positioned to respond to the needs of access to justice. This article examines the challenges to social justice lawyering and community empowerment in India and Bangladesh and compares the status of CLE’s response to them in both countries. It recommends three solutions for ‘socially relevant legal education’ and to resolve the access to justice crisis. First, the institutional support for CLE programmes needs to be improved. Second, sustained sources of funding are imperative for the development of such programmes. Third, the regulators of legal education should take serious measures to bridge the gap between academia and practice in the legal profession.
Legal Challenges to Online Education Concerning Intellectual Property: A Study Based on Chinese Judicial Practice
Since China boasts the highest numbers of online education institutions and users relative to other countries in the world, it has also been blessed with sufficient materials that may be used for empirical research. Although some studies have revealed the potential underlying legal risks in online education, there is still a paucity of scholars who set out to explore how the issues arose during legal practice via written judgments. This paper sifts through and extracts key information from hundreds of judgments provided by Chinese courts, based on which its typical issues were discussed. Through the findings acquired, this research has provided favourable empirical support for subsequent studies.
Are We Heading Towards a Changed Order of International Legal System? A Post-COVID-19 Approach
The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly disrupted the global order, challenging long-standing assumptions about the North–South divide and the efficacy of international legal frameworks. This article argues that the pandemic has accelerated the emergence of a new international legal regime, one that moves away from the Western-centric approach that has historically dominated global governance. The first part critiques the North–South divide, demonstrating its diminishing relevance as nations in the Global South, including India and Vietnam, responded more effectively to the crisis compared to their First World counterparts. The paper also highlights the economic struggles of the Global North, challenging the traditional view of the divide. The second part examines the role of International Health Regulations and state responses during the pandemic, arguing that the current legal framework is inadequate to address the complexities of global health crises. Drawing on the theories of Vitoria and Grotius, the article explores the evolving concepts of sovereignty and freedom of movement in the context of isolation and quarantine measures. The article concludes that we are witnessing a shift towards a changed world order, where the old Western-centric legal regime is being replaced by a more inclusive and cooperative international system, driven by the need for greater coordination and transparency in the face of global challenges like pandemics.
Book review: S. Sivakumar, Prakash Sharma and Abhishek Pandey (Eds.), Clinical and Continuing Legal Education: A Roadmap for India
S. Sivakumar, Prakash Sharma and Abhishek Pandey (Eds.), Clinical and Continuing Legal Education: A Roadmap for India (Gurgaon: Commonwealth Legal Education Association and Thomson Reuters, 2021), xlv + 460 pp. ₹1,450 (Hardcover), ISBN 978-9-3906-7300-1
Using Reflection to Engage with the Affective Domain in Legal Education in the Context of Cultural and Institutional Diversity
In legal education, the affective domain plays a vital role in shaping future lawyers’ professional identities, values and ethical decision-making capabilities. However, law schools in England and Wales face specific challenges in addressing the affective domain successfully in the context of cultural and institutional diversity. These include the predominant emphasis on doctrinal instruction and analytical thinking, neglecting emotional intelligence and ethical development and the emotional demands placed on law students. Law schools must also address implicit biases, combat discrimination and foster a supportive and inclusive environment. To overcome these challenges, law schools can integrate courses addressing the affective domain, offer opportunities for self-reflection, mentorship and peer support and invest in faculty development programmes. Collaboration with the legal profession can also bridge the theory–practice gap. By understanding and addressing these challenges, law schools can equip students with emotional intelligence, empathy and ethical foundations for successful legal careers.
The 70 Years of Legal Education in China from 1949 to 2023: Historical Development, Current Issues and Future Innovations
China’s modern legal education system, characterized by its development over more than seven decades since the founding of New China, has undergone distinct stages including the initial period, stagnation and frustration, restoration and development, comprehensive development, and innovation and development. Based on both empirical and case studies, this article identifies issues in China’s modern legal education system such as the imbalanced distribution of educational resources, inadequacy in theoretical and practical teaching methods, as well as insufficient training for foreign-related legal talents. To address these challenges effectively, this article proposes innovative approaches, including deepening collaboration between academia and industry to narrow regional disparities in education provision; enhancing scenario-based applications of artificial intelligence (AI), the metaverse and other emergent technologies within the field of legal education; as well as aligning the goal of cultivating legal talents with global trends through comprehensive reform strategies. This article aims to offer a novel pathway for Chinese legal education to embrace globalization, while at the same time presenting a new paradigm for international scholars studying Chinese legal education.