Bar Council Of India To Set Up Law Institute In Odisha Capital

Bhubaneswar: The Bar Council of India (BCI) is set to establish an Indian Institute of Law (IIL), a Model Institute of Law Teachers’ Academy, Continuous Legal Education and Research, in Bhubaneswar.

The proposed institute will be set up through the BCI Trust for Promotion of Education (Legal & Professional) and Reforms in Law and For Improvement of Research and Social Training.

The IIL would primarily be for the law teachers and it would work in collaboration with the Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT).

The BCI trust had established the iconic institution for legal education, National Law School of India University (NLSIU) in Bangalore in 1986, which continues to be the model law university of the country.

The land for the institute is provided by Lok Sabha MP Dr Achyuta Samanta on the campuses of KIIT and KISS. Dr Samanta is the founder of both the institutes.

BCI Trust has signed an MoU with KIIT and accordingly, KIIT has provided requisite land at the prime location of the Odisha capital (Patia). This apart, the KIIT will also bear 40 per cent of the cost of the infrastructure of the proposed campus of 1.5 lakh square feet area.

The IIL will administer and run various programmes for continuing legal education, professional skill development programmes, refresher courses, and learning courses for Alternative Dispute resolution methods — Mediation and Conciliation. It will also undertake research in all aspects of law, justice and social development.

The institute will start operations with the following units: (i) Academic Staff College (ASC); (ii) School of Continuing Education (SCE); (iii) IIL Training Centre (IIL-TC); (iv) Centre for Legal Aid (CLA); (v) Bridge courses for Foreign Degree-holders.

The IIL will constitute General Council, Executive Council and Academic Council and will have adequate representation from the higher judiciary, government, education ministry, UGC, academicians, senior members of the Bar, the Chief Justice of Odisha and others.

The BCI will carry out all the programmes of the Institute on its own for the first 3 years. After that, some National Law Universities/other Institutions with good infrastructures will also be allowed to conduct the courses on the pattern of IIL.