BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA
Part –IV
Rules of Legal Education

Rules on standards of legal education and recognition of degrees in law for the purpose of enrolment
as advocateand inspection of Universities for recognizing its degree in law under
Sections 7(1)(h) and (i), 24(1)(c)(iii), and (iiia), 49(1)(af),(ag),and (d) of the
Advocates Act, 1961 made by the Bar Council of India in consultation with
Universities and State Bar Councils


SCHEDULE III
Minimum infrastructural facilities required in a Centre of Legal Education for applying permission to run law courses with affiliation from an Indian University

Physical infrastructure

1. Definition: Institution means a Centre of Legal Education (CLE).
   
   
2. Minimum Capital Fund requirement: Each Centre of Legal Education before seeking affiliation with a University and approval of Bar Council of India of the same shall have a minimum capital fund requirement of Rupees ten lakh to be kept into a Bank account to be used for any future exigencies and development of the Institution. The Account is to be jointly operated by the Secretary or Principal with the Registrar of the University or his authorized agent.
   
   
3. Freehold or Leasehold Property: Each Centre of Legal Education providing education in law either in the Department of law of a University or its constituent or affiliated college must have either on freehold or on long leasehold land adequate to provide academic buildings, library, indoor and outdoor sports facilities, halls of residences for male and female students separately, as the case may be, in the name of the Centre of Legal Education or organization running the Centre of Legal Education. However, lease in the name of the Centre of Legal Education shall be for a period of not less than ten years. What is the adequate space for the said purpose shall be decided by the respective authority of the University under its affiliation regulation and as guided by the UGC.
   
   Provided that sufficient land and adequate floor space area completely and exclusively devoted for a Centre of Legal Education, based on the size of its student population, faculty requirement infrastructure facilities, Library space requirement, indoor and outdoor games facilities and other requirements can be considered sufficient accommodation in compliance with this clause, for the purpose in a multi-faculty Institution on land possessed by the Management of a Society/ Trust/ Non Profit Company running multi-faculty institutions in a metropolitan or in a class 1 city.
   
   
4. Academic Building: There shall be the academic building to provide separate class rooms for general class for each section sufficient to accommodate sixty students as per the requirement of per student floor space as specified by the University Grants commission or such other standard setting body like AICTE and also such other rooms for tutorial work, moot court room exercises, common room for male and female students and adequate library space for keeping books, periodicals, and journals. The library shall also have adequate reading space for at least 25% of the enrolled students according to per capita reading space specified by any standard setting bodies like UGC.
   
   
5. General timing for conduction of courses in Academic Building: Classes may be conducted between 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. in an Institution, which is not fully residential. However the Library may remain open till 10 p.m.

   5A. Size of a section: The Inspection Committee may approve for admission in each of the section of a class for not more than 60 students and may allow a minimum of two sections in each class but not more than five sections in one class (such as First Year or Second Year or Third Year, etc) as the case may be unless there is any exceptional reason for granting more sections in a Class, such a reason has to be specified by the inspection Committee.

6. Library Building: There shall be adequate space in the library for computer facility with access to internet and national and international library access and data bases.

7. Games Facilities: There shall be facilities for indoor and outdoor facilities for games and sports.

8. Halls of residence: There may be facility required for halls of residence separately for males and females students constructed on the direction and
   specification by UGC or any such other standard setting body for affiliating an Institution.

9. (a) Laboratories: Institutions running integrated law program shall have adequate laboratory facilities in various courses of studies, if offered in the curriculum for Science, Engineering and technology courses along with law courses. The standard of such laboratory, per capita space, equipments, supplies, and other facilities shall be as specified by the UGC or any such other standard setting and regulatory bodies for the purpose of affiliation of such an Institution.
   
   (b) Computer Education to be made compulsory for all the students.

10. Organization structure of an Institution: Affiliated Centres of Legal Education can be run by a Non-profit organization, like a Public Trust, Societies
    registered under Union or State law, or a Non Profit Company. All properties, assets, and the academic and academic support services shall be required to be recorded in the name of the Institution.
    
    
11. Legal Aid Centre: Each institution shall establish and run a Legal Aid Clinic under the supervision of a Senior Faculty Member who may administer the
    Clinic run by the Final year students of the Institution in cooperation with the Legal Aid Authorities with list of voluntary lawyers and other Non-Government
    Organizations engaged in this regard in the locality generally from which the student community of the Institution, hail from.
    
    
12. All Bank account or accounts and Funds of the Institution shall be jointly operated by the Manager/Secretary designated by the Trust, Society, or the Non - Profit Company, as the case may be, with the Head of the Institution.
    
    
13. All Records of the Institution including financial, academic and other organizational records and the meeting proceedings shall be kept in safe custody
    by the Head of the Institution in the Office of the Institution and shall remain accessible to all authorities and Inspection teams.
    
    
14. Copy of Affiliation Rules of the University: All affiliating Universities would be required to forward a copy of the Affiliation Rules and affiliation order
    to the Bar Council of India before an Inspection of the University including any of its affiliated Centres of Legal Education.
    
    Academic infrastructure
    
    
15. Minimum Library requirement: To start with, a Law Library shall have a set of AIR manual, Central Acts and Local Acts, Criminal law journal, SCC, Company cases, Indian Bar Review, selected Judgements on Professional Ethics and Journals with the back volumes for at least ten years and also such number of text books in each subjects taught during the period according to the minimum standard ratio of ten books for each registered students. For running integrated program, text books of such other subjects are also to be kept in the similar minimum ratio. The minimum investment in Library in each academic year must shall be Rupees Fifty thousand for one stream and Rupees One Lakh for both the streams.
    
    
16. Whole time Principal/ Head/Dean: There shall be a Principal for each constituent or affiliated Centre of Legal Education of a University and a Dean
    for the University Department, who shall have minimum prescribed qualification in law as prescribed by the UGC for respective position like Principal of a Centre of Legal Education or a Professor of Law to hold Deanship, as the case may be.
    
    
17. Core Faculty: There shall be sufficient number of full time faculty members in each Centre of Legal Education (i.e. ,Department, constituent or affiliated
    college ) to teach each subject at all point of time for running courses who can be supported by part time or visiting faculty. Such a core faculty shall in no case be less than six in the first year of the approval with both streams in operation, eight in the second year and ten in the case of third year of law courses. In addition, for the integrated course there shall be adequate faculty in the subjects offered in the liberal educational subjects as part of the course by the institution. These faculties in the liberal educational discipline in Arts, Science, Management, Commerce, Engineering, Technology or any other discipline shall possess qualification as is required under the UGC guideline or under such other standard setting body as the discipline is allotted to by any Act, statute, or Rules of the Government of India or of a State.
    
    For the Three Year Bachelor of Law degree course only with two sections without the Honour program, there shall be minimum of 4 core faculty in the
    first year six in the second and eight in the third year in addition to the Principal/Head or Dean as the case may be.
    
    Provided that an institution intending to run any specialized or honours course must have at least three faculty in the group in which specialization and
    honours courses are offered.
    
    Provided further that each full time faculty shall take as many classes in the subject or subjects as may be assigned to them on the basis of standard
    prescribed by ‘the standard setting institution’ like UGC.
    
    Provided further, if any institution of a University, which was already affiliated to the University and approved to run professional courses of either scheme or both by the Bar Council of India after inspection of the University, falls short of required full time faculty, the new admission in courses may be required to remain suspended until new required number of faculty is procured. The University shall before starting a new academic session, notify which institutions are only be allowed to admit fresh students.
    
    Provided further that if while inspecting the University it was found that in any institution of the University adequate number of full time faculty was not there in the staff, the Bar Council after giving notice to the University might give a public notice directing the University not to admit students in the new
    academic year in that institution.
    
    
18. Minimum weekly class program per subject (paper): There shall be for each paper (with 4 credit) Four class-hours for one hour duration each and one hour of tutorial/moot court/project work per week.
    
    
19. Examination rule guideline: The examination shall ordinarily be held at the end of every semester. The University shall, however, be at liberty to hold
    examination quicker frequency on continuing basis. Suitable allocations of subjects for each semester program, as the case may be, shall be planned by the University and the same shall be intimated to the Bar Council of India along with the Examination Rules adopted by the University concerned.
    
    
20. Minimum qualification needed for the Faculty: Full-time faculty members including the Principal of the Centre of Legal Education shall be holders of a Master’s degree or as prescribed by UGC or other such standard setting bodies. However faculty for teaching clinical program may be appointed from the retired judicial officers or from the Bar, a person with professional experience for a minimum period of 10 years. Visiting faculty from the Bar, bench or academy shall have a minimum experience of 10 years.
    
    
21. Teaching load: The teaching load of full-time and part time teachers shall be according to the norms prescribed by the U.G.C. from time to time.
    
    
22. Salary scale: The salary paid to the Principal shall be according to the scales recommended by the U.G.C from time to time with other benefits. Core Full
    Time Faculty shall ordinarily be given usual UGC scale.
    
    An Institution may however have faculty whose remuneration is based on contract provided the remuneration is comparable with or more favorable to the faculty in comparison with the UGC Scale and salary shall be paid through account payee cheque.
    
    
23. Standard Academic practice: The Bar Council of India may issue directives from time to time for maintenance of the standards of Legal Education. The
    Centre of Legal Education /University has to follow them as compulsory.
    
    
24. The Questionnaire specified in Schedule VI & VII and as amended from time to time, is to be responded to by the applicant for approving an affiliated institution by the Bar Council of India under the Rules, which shall be deemed to be directive issued under this Rule. The questionnaire shall be submitted with the application for initial inspection with such other particulars, documents and fees as may be prescribed.
    
    
25. Minimum Period of Internship:
    (a) Each registered student shall have completed minimum of 12 weeks internship for Three Year Course stream and 20 weeks in case of Five Year Course stream during the entire period of legal studies under NGO, Trial and Appellate Advocates, Judiciary, Legal Regulatory authorities, Legislatures and Parliament, Other Legal Functionaries, Market Institutions, Law Firms, Companies, Local Self Government and other such bodies as the University shall stipulate, where law is practiced either in action or in dispute resolution or in management.
    
    Provided that internship in any year cannot be for a continuous period of more than Four Weeks and all students shall at least gone through once in the entire academic period with Trial and Appellate Advocates.
    
    (b) Each student shall keep Internship diary in such form as may be stipulated by the University concerned and the same shall be evaluated by the Guide in Internship and also a Core Faculty member of the staff each time. The total mark shall be assessed in the Final Semester of the course in the 4th Clinical course as stipulated under the Rules in Schedule II.
    
    
26. District-wise list of Senior Lawyers willing to guide students under internship: The State Bar Councils shall be required to prepare a list of suggested Senior Advocates District-wise with at least ten years experience who are willing to take under internship students during the vacation period. The Bar Council of India shall then publish the list of senior lawyers willing to guide students under internship in the web-site as well as make the list available with the Institutions.
    
    
27. Formal Dress Code during internship: Students placed under internship or in moot court exercise shall have formal dress of legal professional in pupilage as follows:

    (For all) White/Black trouser, white shirt, black tie, black coat, black shoe and black socks. When students have problems of getting the entire formal dress for any reason, they have to have a white trouser, full sleeve shirt to be tucked in and covered shoe.
    
    (Optional for Girl students) Black printed sharee, with white full sleeve blouse and covered black shoe or Lawyer’s Suit with black covered shoe.
    
    The Organization or Advocate under whom the internee is placed is required to follow suitable dress code.

28. Age on admission:

    (a) Subject to the condition stipulated by a University on this behalf and the high degree of professional commitment required, the maximum age for seeking admission into a stream of integrated Bachelor of law degree program, is limited to twenty years in case of general category of applicants and to twenty two years in case of applicants from SC, ST and other Backward communities.

    (b) Subject to the condition stipulated by a University, and the general social condition of the applicants seeking legal education belatedly, the maximum age for seeking admission into a stream of Three Year Bachelor Degree Course in Law, is limited to thirty years with right of the University to give concession of 5 further year for the applicant belonging to SC or ST or any other Backward Community.