What is the significance of Clinical Legal Education in today's times?

Clinical legal education does not only refer to a method of teaching that is concerned with getting law students to be involved in the practical application of legal knowledge and the acquisition of legal skills. It also involves discharging a social justice function. Law clinics ensure that communities have access to justice and that they have a voice in issues that concerns them. It can serve as a vehicle for the protection of human rights, ensuring participation, promoting justice education, human rights and a culture of lawfulness.

Under the Doha declaration, member states made a commitment to promote a culture of lawfulness. The Declaration recognises the need for education and emphasises that education for all children and youth, including the eradication of illiteracy, is fundamental to the prevention of crime and corruption and to the promotion of a culture of lawfulness that supports the rule of law and human rights.

Member states under the Declaration made a commitment to promoting access to education for all, including technical and professional skills, as well as to promote lifelong learning skills for all. However, in most countries human rights, neither justice and education for a culture of lawfulness have being popularised nor is it being implemented. Nevertheless, Legal Aid clinics are playing a very prominent role to fill in the gap and promote understanding of human rights, justice and a culture of lawfulness.

The declaration adopting the Sustainable Development Goals envisions it as encompassing all human rights and working to ensure that human rights and fundamental freedoms are enjoyed by all without discrimination. It also recognises that continuing human rights abuses will hamper the implementation of the SDGs and the vision to ensure that no one is left behind. It, therefore, sets an agenda to place human rights at the Center of Leaving no one behind and to focus on the poorest and most vulnerable.

Also, at the heart of the 2030 Agenda to achieve implementation of the sustainable development goals are the principle inclusiveness and participation.

These principles are encapsulated in several targets. For instance, Target 5.5 calls for women’s full and effective participation and equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making in political, economic and public life. This value of inclusiveness and participation is an aspect of the focus of goal 16.

However, inclusiveness and participation are dependent on broad awareness and understanding of the SDGs. Law Clinics are increasingly being recognised as guardians of societal values and as identifiable key actors in advancing education for sustainable development and implementation of the sustainable development goals and could also contribute to public policymaking at all levels.

Legal Aid Society of The NorthCap University has also taken up projects for conducting awareness sessions for the underprivileged section of the society by partnering with District Legal Services Authority, NGO’s and community heads in the past and the focus of the society is to promote resilience of societies in the economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development and in fostering awareness of the Goals and in developing specific policy approaches to implement them through education.

Article 39-A of the Constitution of India says, “the State shall secure the operation of the legal system to promote justice, on a basis of equal opportunity, and shall, in particular, provide free legal aid, by suitable legislation or schemes or in any other way, to ensure that opportunities for securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic or other disabilities”.

Keeping the spirit of the Constitution in mind, the Legal Aid Society seeks to ensure dissemination of justice equally among all sections of the society. Clinical legal education’s importance lies in creating advocates for the better society and with a better understanding of challenges faced in the society at large. With this aim, Law schools should promote the culture of learning through legal aid, attending mediation proceedings, Lok Adalats, etc. so that students can reach to people who may be at a disadvantage end and may be able to help them access courts and justice on equal terms with the more fortunate. It is for the promotion of equal access to justice that it is mandatory for Law schools in India to open and run legal aid cells. The report of the Committee for Implementing Legal Aid Schemes under the Chairmanship of Justice P.N. Bhagwati and the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 have taken this noble task a step further.

Clinical legal education’s importance lies in creating advocates for the better society and with a better understanding of challenges faced in the society at large. With this aim, Law schools should promote the culture of learning through legal aid, attending mediation proceedings, Lok Adalats, etc. so that students can reach to people who may be at a disadvantage end and may be able to help them access courts and justice on equal terms with the more fortunate.

The framework of the Legal Aid Society at The NorthCap University also aims to inspire partnerships among law clinics of different law schools, community groups and policymakers in strengthening the socio-legal fabric of our country.

About the author

Shiksha Dahiya is an Assistant Professor at The NorthCap University. She is an alumnus of Jesus and Mary College, Delhi University, graduated in Law from Campus Law Centre, Delhi University along with her Post Graduation in Public Relations from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, New Delhi and completed her LLM from Manav Bharti University, Himachal Pradesh. Shiksha has over 6 years of industry and academic experience

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha