Law teachers seek permission to practise in courts

The executive committee of a consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) has decided to seek permission from the Bar Council of India to allow full-time faculty to practise law in courts. The decision, among others, was taken by the committee at a meeting here Wednesday, a press release from the Nalsar University of Law here said on Thursday.

Also, the committee resolved that the issue would be taken up with the Bar Council of India seeking an amendment to its Rule 49 which prohibits full-time salaried employees from practising in courts.

The committee said that not allowing law teachers to practise in the courts of law was ‘harming’ the legal system as law teachers are as important stakeholders in the system as lawyers and judges and can contribute meaningfully to the legal system, the press release said.

Besides, the committee said that as the country badly needs litigation lawyers and also needs to bridge the gap between law in books and law in action, it is necessary that the teachers should themselves go to the court along with the students.

Vice-chancellor of Nalsar varsity and president of the consortium of NLUs professor Faizan Mustafa said the executive committee resolved that in case law teachers are not permitted to practice, a non-practising allowance of 25 per cent at par with medical doctors should be paid, according to the release.

Once the law teachers were permitted to take up the cases, it would be on a pro-bono basis and if a fee was charged, it would be shared between the university concerned and the law teacher in the ratio of 60:40, the release said.