Unveiling the Gaps: A Critical Look at Pakistan’s Legal Education and Its Reform

Introduction:

A robust legal education that produces innovative problem-solvers who persuade through logical reasoning is the cornerstone of a sound legal system. The legal profession is crucial to a nation’s overall development. Without laws, society would descend into chaos governed by the law of the jungle. Conversely, even with laws in place, if they are not followed and appropriately enforced, the nation will fall into an abyss where those with power exploit the laws to their advantage, considering themselves above the law.

In Pakistan, a country already in turmoil, it is imperative to focus on introducing legal reforms. Only through a robust legal system can the rule of law be maintained. This article will examine the flaws in the current legal education system and propose reforms, comparing Pakistan’s system to those of the USA and the U.K.

Current System:

In Pakistan, two LLB degrees are prevalent: the University of London LLB (Hons) degree and the local B.A. LLB degree. Unfortunately, neither of these programs adequately prepares students for their future careers. As a result, many lawyers struggle to navigate the legal system and find it challenging to perform tasks assigned by their seniors in the early years of their profession. 

University of London Program:

The University of London (UOL) degree program dates back to the 1890s and is often regarded as the gold standard. This prestigious program helps students develop essential skills such as problem-solving, critical thinking, and self-discipline, which are highly sought after by top firms and employers worldwide. Another significant advantage of the UOL program is the absence of age restrictions, allowing individuals of any age to register and complete the degree.

While the program offers many benefits, as a student of the UOL program myself, it lacks practical preparation. Notably, as an international program focused on the laws of the United Kingdom, it offers limited relevance in Pakistan. Employers in Pakistan are often reluctant to hire UOL graduates, perceiving them as needing more knowledge of local laws and requiring significant investment in training to acclimate them. Additionally, the degree is taught by professors who are not practicing the laws of the U.K., resulting in a teaching standard that does not match that provided in the U.K.

Pakistani students also lack familiarity with the examiners marking their exams. In the U.K., students studying the same degree benefit from knowing their module examiners personally, allowing them to engage throughout the academic year and understand the examiners’ expectations. This relationship enables U.K. students to tailor their study strategies and receive valuable feedback, enhancing their performance. In contrast, Pakistani students remain anonymous to their examiners and have only one chance to make an impression through their written exams. This anonymity can be detrimental, preventing personalized feedback and targeted preparation. Consequently, Pakistani students must rely on generalized advice, which may be less effective. 

Professors often focus more on teaching students how to attempt exam papers rather than imparting practical legal skills or a deep understanding of the law. Consequently, students become fixated on strategies for improving their exam answers instead of developing skills that will be valuable in their future careers. A prevalent issue in Pakistan is hiring 3rd party tutors to write model answers before exams, which students often use during their assessments. This approach leads to students not acquiring essential skills pertinent to the legal profession, resulting in a reliance on shortcuts and external assistance. Furthermore, students who do not engage in these practices and focus instead on genuinely understanding the material might be disadvantaged since they lack the specialized skill of “writing the exam” effectively, which is crucial for achieving good grades. 

Pakistani students enrolled in the UOL program miss out on the extensive range of subjects available to their counterparts in the U.K., primarily because it is a foreign degree and not all subjects can be offered locally. This limitation hampers their ability to explore and decide on a specialization during their studies. Consequently, students often face uncertainty about which area of law to focus on until they enter the workforce. This delay in specialization burdens employers, who must invest time and resources to train new graduates in specific legal fields, thereby increasing operational costs for firms.

A significant drawback of the UOL degree in Pakistan is that students are assessed solely through a single final exam. In contrast, in the U.K., students are evaluated through written examinations and coursework, typically essays, moots, and negotiation exercises. This comprehensive assessment approach in the U.K. allows students to develop a broader range of skills, putting Pakistani students at a disadvantage. A lawyer’s job relies heavily on interpersonal, argumentative, and research skills—not their exam-taking abilities. Pakistani students often miss out on developing these essential skills unless they actively participate in moot court competitions or engage in academic writing. However, participation in these activities is not mandatory and can conflict with regular classes, further discouraging involvement. Thus, students who do not engage in these supplementary activities are at a significant disadvantage, lacking the invaluable skills necessary for a successful legal career.

Local B.A. LLB Program:

While the B.A. LLB program benefits students by allowing them to gain knowledge about Pakistani laws, but the program has flaws. In an effort to address these issues, a five-year LL.B. program following the Supreme Court judgment in Pakistan Bar Council v. Federal Government PLD 2007 was introduced. However, despite these reforms, significant challenges remain in the local legal education system, including outdated curricula, inadequate teaching methods, and insufficient practical training. These shortcomings continue to hinder the effectiveness of the program in thoroughly preparing students for legal practice.

Despite the promising prospects for reform proposed by then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Mian Saqib Nisar, along with Justices Umer Atta Bandial and Ijaz Ul Ahsan, the local LLB program still needs to meet the anticipated standards. The program is divided into two parts: two years for a B.A. and three years for the LLB. During the B.A. period, students study subjects that are not directly related to law, such as political science, Pakistan studies, Islamic studies, and Arabic. While these subjects can provide a broader understanding, they offer limited direct benefit to aspiring law students. 

The B.A. LLB program, just like its counterpart, relies on a single final exam to assess students, similar to the UOL program. This exam-centric approach leads students to focus on merely passing the exam rather than deeply engaging with the material. The examination system is also flawed and often considered monotonous. With repetitive exam papers, students typically prepare answers in advance and reproduce them during the exam. This practice hampers the learning process, promoting rote learning rather than a deep understanding of legal concepts. Similar to the issues in the UOL program, this approach leads students to focus on exam techniques rather than mastering the legal principles.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, students faced significant uncertainty regarding their exam schedules, and even now, there is no clear timeline for the start and end of academic sessions. This ambiguity has disadvantaged students, preventing them from making the most of their law school experience. Moreover, the curriculum remains outdated and overly descriptive, as contended in various other articles and even by students themselves. For instance, the Constitutional History of Pakistan is taught through a few books focusing on historical incidents rather than their relevance to contemporary issues and the future. This superficial approach to teaching constitutional law ultimately hinders students from developing a comprehensive understanding of constitutional principles, reducing their ability to engage critically with the subject matter and apply it effectively in their legal careers.

Furthermore, students in the B.A. LLB program are assigned numerous books, which can impede the development of a consistent reading habit. In contrast, programs in other countries, including the UOL program, provide essential and recommended readings, guiding students on what to read and where to focus their efforts. This approach helps ease the burden and enhances students’ knowledge. Another significant criticism of the B.A. LLB program is its lack of emphasis on critical thinking. The curriculum predominantly focuses on essay writing, which does not adequately foster analytical skills or encourage deeper engagement with the material. As a result, students may excel in rote memorization and essay composition but lack the ability to critically analyze legal issues and develop innovative solutions.

The syllabus also lacks critical debates and other activities that can help students in their practice. As mentioned, the system is focused on a single final exam, and students are not required to participate in moot courts or other extracurricular activities. There is no requirement to conduct research or expand their horizons by learning about recent developments in the field or legal issues around the world. Thus, students often struggle to develop essential analytical skills and a comprehensive understanding of the legal landscape.

Reform:

The purpose of the Pakistan Bar Council judgment was to bring the legal education standards in line with those of the U.K. and the USA; however, in light of the above-mentioned, it is pretty evident that this aim is far from being achieved. With two types of education systems prevailing in the country and the failure to introduce a uniform system, this has led to classism—students of UOL and B.A. LLB are often in competition with each other, with students of UOL usually finding themselves superior to those of the local program. 

The legal system and law play a vital role in the development of society. If we look at the USA, they expect many of their senior government officials to be graduates of law schools. Ex-President Obama, the current President Joe Biden, and Clinton all have law degrees. In Obama’s tenure, 40% of the members of his full Cabinet had received legal education. And according to statistics, 25 of the U.S. Presidents were lawyers. Therefore, in U.S. law schools not only prepare their students to practice law but also play a leading role in government, business, foreign affairs, and in a full range of institutions that influence policy and society. 

In Pakistan, many of our past Prime Ministers, including the father of the nation, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, were lawyers. Even today, the legal profession continues to play a crucial role in the nation’s development. Political matters frequently end up in court, where they are resolved by legal professionals, emphasizing the profession’s essential role in maintaining societal stability and justice. This highlights the critical need for reform in legal education to ensure that law students acquire the necessary skills to uphold justice. By improving how law students are trained, we can better prepare future lawyers to meet the demands of their profession and contribute effectively to the nation’s progress. 

Moving forward, it is essential to ensure that there is a connection between the studies and the legal practice. The curriculum needs to be construed in such a way that students are not only judged on how they write the exam. Currently, the system of rote learning is prevalent because there is just a single final exam. Legal education should be reformed to teach students to “think like a lawyer.” This means cultivating critical thinking, exploring what the law should be, and developing the invaluable skills of using reasoned arguments to persuade others and conducting thorough research.

To achieve this, it is crucial to restructure the assessment methods. Instead of relying on a single final exam, we should adopt an assignment-based approach that emphasizes research work, negotiation skills, moot court participation, and other practical coursework coupled with examinations. These activities will provide students with a deeper understanding of the law and equip them with the practical skills necessary for their future careers. 

It is contended that the B.A. part of the program is scraped. Instead, the focus should just be on LL.B. Also, the length of the program should be shortened to 3 or 4 years, with a focus on subjects of law and other practical activities essential for the legal profession. However, students may have the option to opt for non-law subjects. The pointers made by the American Bar Association (ABA) should be adopted to ensure an effective curriculum for legal studies. As per the ABA: “The law school curriculum requires students to complete a professional responsibility course of at least two credit hours, a faculty-supervised writing experience in the first year and another after, and six credit hours of experiential courses (simulation, law clinics, or field placements). Additionally, the school must offer substantial opportunities for participation in law clinics or field placements, pro bono legal services, and the development of a professional identity.”

Examinations and coursework should be divided into the midterm and final exams, which need to focus on essay- and proposition-based questions, which would help students get a deeper understanding of the law, critically analyze it, and apply it in hypothetical scenarios. Moreover, examinations should be open book, since it should not be a test of a student’s memory, but in fact, a test of his analytical skills and his skills of applying the law. Furthermore, it should be the professors teaching the module who set the exam. The Board may set the requirements of what is expected to be the learning outcomes from the particular module; however, the professor should have discretion on how it is to be taught and what is to be included in the assessments/examinations. 

Law moots and advocacy training must also be integral parts of legal education. In the U.S. and U.K., students are encouraged to participate in these activities, often receiving grades or course credit for their involvement. Incorporating such elements into our curriculum would allow students to gain acumens into presenting cases, applying legal principles, and conducting thorough legal research. Their performance would be evaluated based on legal reasoning, presentation skills, and the ability to respond to questions, providing a broad assessment of their practical abilities. Involvement in these activities would help students develop essential legal skills, such as critical thinking, effective communication, and persuasive argumentation. By this integration, students can bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical application. 

In the U.S., the ABA recommends that clinical legal education be part of the curriculum. This approach involves students working on real cases under the supervision of experienced lawyers. Introducing clinical legal education into Pakistan’s legal education system would ensure that law students, upon graduation, are familiar with the workings of the legal system, thereby reducing the burden on future employers and easing the transition for the students themselves. By engaging in hands-on legal practice, students would gain practical experience and a deeper understanding of legal procedures, client interactions, and case management. Integrating clinical legal education into the curriculum would significantly enhance the quality of legal training in Pakistan. 

To restrain reliance on external tuition centers and discourage shortcuts, student participation, and classroom attendance should contribute to the overall grade. Professors can evaluate students based on their engagement in class discussions, promoting a deeper relationship between students and teachers. This also encourages critical thinking, questioning, and a more profound understanding of legal concepts. Additionally, law schools should introduce extracurricular activities such as seminars and legal talks featuring practicing lawyers discussing recent developments and other pertinent issues. These initiatives provide students with insights into the practical aspects of the legal profession, enhance their knowledge of current legal trends, and help them build valuable professional networks.

A valuable skill for every lawyer is the ability to conduct thorough research. Legal education in Pakistan must be reformed to include specific modules focused on legal research and writing. Requiring students to complete research projects or dissertations on topics of their choice would help independent research skills and the ability to present findings soundly.

Furthermore, to enhance the overall process of legal education, it is essential to ensure that coursebooks are updated annually to include recent legal developments. Law schools in Pakistan should also implement online learning platforms that provide updates on the modules being taught, encouraging students to stay informed about current changes in the law. These reforms would not only improve the quality of legal education but also better prepare students for the dynamic nature of legal practice.