A lot of people in Pakistan have been hailing the legal profession as a winner in the current crisis. However, even though the legal profession is considered one of the most educated and honourable professions, it is in dire straits these days. There is no doubt that it is being led by a group of very capable individuals, but unfortunately they have not been able to improve the condition of the courts or the system and it is headed downhill.
Apparently for many years now, someone who can’t get himself enrolled in a medical, engineering, economics or finance program heads towards law. Why? Because the admission standards are terribly low and some say that once enrolled you only need to go again after three years to collect your degree. I wonder about the standard of lawyers produced through such an educational system.
There is something else which makes me question the effectiveness of law colleges in Pakistan. Many lawyers that I have met in Pakistan tell me that the language of the courts beyond the lower courts is English. However, the language of instruction in several law colleges in the country is exclusively Urdu. In most others, the level of English is not very high. Obviously, that puts most locally educated lawyers at a disadvantage and poses big problems for them at the high court level and beyond. Hence, Western educated lawyers are valued much more because of their ability to speak and write English better regardless of their legal prowess. That’s just one issue that I could notice, many more are highlighted below.
M. I. Shaikh, in his letter to the editor in DAWN, wrote about the legal profession as a commoner who was a client of the system.
He says about legal education…
In Pakistan we do not spend money on training of legal profession. Many so-called law colleges have no real campuses, they are in tatters and are, in fact, academic contraptions, and there is no serious government investment in legal training.
Early vocational legal training is mostly in the private sector and is not government-funded as in several other professions. Here a new junior lawyer learns all money-grabbing techniques and becomes conversant in the use of agents and munshis and others to attract clients .
He says about the efficiency of the legal system and money-earning powers of lawyers…
Courts are overcrowded, lawyers have to wait long hours in inclement circumstances. Judges might have to listen to 100 plus cases a day and offices for both lawyers and junior judges are substandard. Atmosphere is casual and often not sombre.
A considerable scope for improvement via self-generated funds is there as a lot of income comes to the court system from the sale of stamps and from court fees but none is spent on improving the judicial setups.
Computerisation is just beginning and even now it is possible for one case to be heard in three courts for a long time before being clubbed since no liaison exists between the courts.
He says about staffing policies…
Staffing policies are arbitrary too. In courts it is very striking to see unmarried young ladies as ‘family’ judges and marriage dispute judges and likewise quite young junior judges handle billions of rupees’ worth of property cases in main cities with no serious insight or maturity which can come only with age.
Unlike other emergency services as hospitals, there is no real locum system in operation in courts, a judge on leave has no replacements. So, anybody needing bail better remain in jail for a while if the judge decides on a holiday .
He says about the functioning of the courts…
Absence of case lawyers and respondents is not taken seriously in lower courts and hence more laxity in court attendance means longer and longer time it requires for cases to get decided.
He says about legal practice…
Moreover, there is no tradition of doing research to find proofs helpful in the case, instead clients are asked to provide that. This means that legal research is hampered. Many purported Pakistani law books are partial copycats of legal books of neighbouring countries.
He says about experts…
Cases which require medical technology or knowledge are often decided wrongly as neither the doctors, nor the lawyers or the judges are trained in proper forensic medicine.
Please bear in mind that the writer has not spoken about things such as corruption, politics, abuse of power and other vices prevalent in the system. However, the recent crisis has highlighted the importance of the legal profession and I sure hope that more investment is made in the future to improve it.
Just had a discussiong with Mr. Rasheed Razvi on this same issue and he referred me to a case Federation of Pakistan v. Pakistan Bar Council which has been reported only in the last few months and puts all law colleges under the control of the Bar Council. An overdue and good step in the right direction.
McDoom: What are the practical implications of the decision in this case? Does the Bar Council intend to standardise the education provided?
I wouldn’t be able to give u a complete run down off the top of my head, and Pakistan Law Site refuses to log me in at the moment, but from what I made of things, all law colleges will have their curriculum certified by the bar council and their examinations will also need approval.
Will try and get hold of more details in due course.