Breaking: One Year LL.M. Course To Be Abolished In India, New Admission Test To Be Introduced

The new Bar Council of India Legal Education (Post Graduate, Doctoral, Executive, Vocational, Clinical and other Continuing Education) Rules, 2020, seeks to abolish One year Master Degree in Law (LL.M.) in India.

A Master Degree Program in Law of one year duration introduced in India in 2013(as per notification) by the University Grants Commission shall remain operative and valid until the Academic Session in which these Regulations are notified and implemented but not thereafter at any University throughout the country, the new rule states. These Rules shall come into force from the date notified by the Bar Council of India.

The new rules provides that the post-graduate course in law leading to Master degree, in short, LL.M. has to be of two years' duration spreading over four semesters. Further, LL.M. course is restricted to only graduates in law.

"Bar Council of India (either directly or through its Trust) may annually conduct a Post Graduate Common Entrance Test in Law (PGCETL) for admission in Master Degree course in Law in all Universities and until the PGCETL is introduced the present system followed by respective Universities shall be followed. Once the BCI introduces PGCETL it shall be mandatory to admit the students from the merit list of the Test." , the Rule reads.

The Rules also stipulate that Introducing and running a PGPL course (LL.M. Program) is the direct responsibility of a University and cannot be sourced out to any affiliating institutions. Following are other stipulations:

1. A pass in the three year LL.B. or a five year LL.B. in an integrated Law degree course is the entry level qualification securing percentage of marks as may be notified by the Entrance Examination Testing Body of Bar Council of India either through All India Entrance Test or at the state level as the case may be.

2. No University shall admit and award any Master's degree in law (LL.M.) to any person who has not obtained (i) the degree of Bachelor of Law (LL.B.) after graduation in any subject or area or discipline or (ii) an Integrated degree such as, BA.LL.B. or BBA.LL.B or B.Sc. LL.B. after studying at least a minimum period of five years.
3. A Master degree in any specialized branch of Law offered in the Open System to any graduate, such as Business Law or Human Right, or International Trade Law without having LL.B./BA.LLB as the requisite entry level qualification shall not be designated as Master's Degree in Law (LL.M.) but can be designated in any other manner attracting the immediate attention of anyone that such a degree holder may not be a Law graduate. Master's degree in Business Law may be designated as (MBL); Master's in Governance and Public Policy as (MGPP), Master's in Human Rights as (MHR), Master's in Industrial Laws (MIL) etc., which cannot be considered equivalent to LL.M. 
4. LL.M. degree obtained from a Foreign University, which has been prosecuted without an equivalent LL.B. degree shall not be equivalent to Indian LL.M. degree.
5. In order to qualify for test of equivalence of LL.M. degree obtained from any foreign University the Masters' Degree in Law course must have been taken only after obtaining the LL.B. degree from any foreign or Indian University which is equivalent to the recognized LL.B. degree in India.
6. One year LL.M. obtained from any foreign University is not equivalent to Indian LL.M. degree. However one year LL.M. degree obtained after an equivalent LL.B. degree from any highly accredited Foreign University may entitle the person concerned to be appointed as a visiting professor in an Indian University for at least one year so as to consider such One year LL.M. degree with one year teaching experience as a Visiting Faculty/internee faculty/clinical faculty the Master degree obtained on one year term may be considered equivalent.

In its notification, the Bar Council of India also states that 'the Education Policy, 2020 of Government of India categorically carved out legal education from the newly proposed umbrella apex body institution, Higher Education Commission of India (HECI) with its regulatory arm of National Higher Education Regulatory Council [ NHERC] excluding the legal education as one of the only two professional education outside the swipe of the HECI and its regulatory arm, NHERC, making the entire realm of legal education for the Bar Council of India to regulate.'

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