Date of Hearing: 20.08.2018 & 24.8.2018 at Lahore and 28.8.2018 at Islamabad.
Court: Supreme Court of Pakistan (Appellate Jurisdiction)
Present: Mr. Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, Hcj, Mr. Justice Umar Ata Bandial, Mr. Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan.
Name: Constitution Petition NO.134 of 2012 and Civil Misc. Application NO.1864 of 2010 in Constitution Petition NO.9 of 2005 (legal education standards in Pakistan)
The Supreme Court order in this case decided on several issues related to legal education and professional standards in the country.
Several civil cases and constitution petitions (Constitution Petition No. 134 of 2012 and Civil Misc. Application No .1864 of 2010 in Constitution Petition No. 9 of 2005 and Civil Misc. Applications No. 1939 of 2014, 5959 of 2016, 4095, 1793, 2876, 2996, 3014 and 6672 of 2018 in Constitution Petition No. 134 of 2012 and Civil Misc. Applications No. 3034, 3048, 3051 and 6247 of 2018 in Civil Misc. Application No. 1864 of 2010) were joined in this case and they were heard by a three-judge bench presided by the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
The order restores the Bar Entrance Examination or Law Graduate Assessment Test (LAW GAT), which will be held every three months by the Higher Education Commission of Pakistan (HECP) and confirms the introduction of a compulsory entry test to Law College called Law Admission Test (LAT), which shall be held biannually by HECP. Graduates from foreign universities recognized by the Pakistan Bar Council will need to pass a Special Equivalence Examination as a pre-requisite for taking the LAW GAT.
The Court goes on to specify which universities are recognized and authorised under the Pakistan Bar Council Legal Education Rules 2015 to be law degree awarding institutions. The order also prohibits conducting LL.M. and Ph.D. classes by unauthorised or unrecognised educational institutions, and introduces limits on admissions to L.L.M. and Ph.D. courses based on HECP criteria, including a ceiling on the maximum number of intakes.
As the order bans evening classes being offered at all law classes and universities, it also imposes a fix students to faculty ratio. Special mechanisms for allocation of funds to PCB are introduced, together with a non-practicing allowance to lawyers who devote all or part of their time to teaching. Moreover, the Court identifies 31 December 2018 as the last date for admission to three-year LL.B. programme, after which it will be replaced by a five-year LL.B. programme starting from September 2019 onwards.
After instructing the PCB to establish a Secretariat/Directorate of Legal Education and to constitute an Implementation/Monitoring Committee to enforce the directions given, the order goes on to identify and shut down one unregistered university and several law colleges around the country. Many other law colleges across Pakistan are given six months to improve on their weak areas to avoid being forced to close.
Finally the order states that any appeal against a final order issued under University rules stands with the Supreme Court of Pakistan.