Advocating Social Change

THE NATIONAL LAW University Odisha (NLUO) was established in 2009 un­der the National Law Univer­sity Orissa Act, 2008 (Act 4 of 2008) and commenced its academic activities in the academic year 2009-10.

The university has received recogni­tion from the University Grants Com­mission (UGC) under Section 12(B) of the UGC Act, 1956, and has been receiv­ing grants under the XII Plan. The de­grees offered are recognised by the Bar Council of India. It is also an associate member of the UGC-INFLIBNET, and a participant in the National Knowledge Network under the Ministry of Informa­tion Technology and Communication. NLUO is accredited with ‘A’ Grade by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). It is also an ISO 9001- 2015 certified institution.

NLUO has a sprawling campus in Cuttack spread over 49.5 acres with two rivers, Mahanadi and Kathjodi, skirting it. The campus is lush and has an aesthetic landscaping. The jewel in the crown is its newly completed library, which has the largest land area among all the national law schools with a seat­ing capacity of around 500 people.

NLUO’s logo is in the form of an es­cutcheon (heraldic shield) divided into four quarters, coloured blue and white alternately. The top left quarter has a bal­ance representing the scales of justice, while the top right quarter has a gavel that denotes the might of the judiciary. Below these is a scroll bearing the in­scription “National Law University Odi­sha”, and a representation of the Indian Constitution. Superimposed on the centre of the shield is a chakra or wheel from the Sun Temple at Konark, which represents the state of Odisha.

The motto inscribed below the logo is “Satye sthito dharmah” or “Law locates in the truth”. This has been sourced from Kautilya’s Arthashastra, one of ancient India’s great legal texts. This precept has been chosen owing to its relevance today, as much as in Kautilya’s times.

NLUO was established with an ob­jective of providing socially relevant education. National Law University Odisha has not been established with the objective of being a self-sustaining island of legal education, but to emerge as a dynamic institution with clear emphasis on the confluence of ideas to address pressing societal concerns. The institutional vision includes not only duties towards the students of the uni­versity but also an obligation to reach out and connect with all such stakehold­ers whose functions have a bearing on the legal life of the society. The vision of the university is to develop social and scientific research skills among the students and scholars for enhancing a sense of responsibility to serve society as professionals and law reformers, and to develop professional skills of advocacy, judicial interpretation, legislation and other legal services. The university aims to advance professional education in convergence with the knowledge of other related disciplines to provide ad­equate orientation and training, includ­ing facilities of continuing education to law teachers, judicial officers, advocates, and others in civil society who are en­gaged in the legal field.

NLUO has had the honour of hosting a galaxy of luminaries, including for­mer President Ram Nath Kovind, who visited NLUO and delivered its “Third Foundation Day Lecture” on March 17, 2018. NLUO is privileged to have host­ed the chief justices of India, namely, Justice Tirath Singh Thakur, Justice Dipak Misra, and Justice UU Lalit; aca­demician and renowned writer Padma Shri Pratibha Ray, and former judge, High Court of Australia Justice Michael Kirby, as chief guests for its annual con­vocations. This year, NLUO celebrates its 10th convocation.

Lawyering has been conceived as a noble profession that requires specific skills, abilities and knowledge in a speci­fied field. When certain professions are aimed at the development of other members of the community, like teach­ing, or for ameliorating the pain and suffering of others, like medicine and lawyering, without the primary focus being on the reward for their work, they become noble professions. The lawyer’s gown has a symbolic pocket at the back as lawyers were not expected to ask for any specific fees and the clients could put whatever money they thought was appropriate in that back pocket. Today, that pocket just remains symbolic of this historical expectation. At the same time, law schools have the moral and legal responsibility to promote social service among its students and teach them how law operates on the ground for various sections of society.

NLUO started with 120 students offer­ing a five-year integrated BA LLB (Hons) programme for 10+2 students, who are selected through the CLAT examina­tion. Later, it added another batch of 60 students for the five-year integrated BBA LLB (Hons) course, and one-year LLM course with 50 students. From the aca­demic session 2022-23, it added a three-year degree programme, BA Hons (Law), with another 50 students. The course focuses on producing skilled youth to take up jobs and activities surrounding law, like legal counselling, advocacy, legal journalism, legal professional assistants and entrepreneurs. From the academic year 2023, NLUO is initiating the three-year LLB (Hons) course for graduate stu­dents. NLUO also offers PhD in law and interdisciplinary subjects.

NLUO students participate in a range of activities outside the university—in cultural competitions and sport. It hosts annually its cultural and sport festivals—Kairan and Viraj—in addition to a food festival. Sport and cultural activities for its staff, too, are integral to life at NLUO.

In addition to providing quality le­gal education, NLUO has continuously undertaken community outreach pro­grammes in which students partici­pate in large numbers. Their exposure to marginalised communities deepens their understanding of the power of law as a tool of both empowerment and disempowerment. Many of NLUO’s students have preferred to take up the hard line of litigation to serve the people rather than the well-paid jobs at multi­national companies.

NLUO has a robust legal aid pro­gramme initiated with the support of UNDP to run legal aid clinics in three villages. The programmes have contin­ued beyond the project period and have provided relief to many members of marginalised communities in addition to generating awareness about law and welfare schemes.

It also has a centre for child rights supported by UNICEF, which conducts programmes for the benefit of children as well as train officials involved in the juvenile justice system. NLUO has even partnered with the police and prison departments to develop peo­ple-friendly practices. It trains various stakeholders to promote the rights of the vulnerable population. The univer­sity has integrated several government schemes, such as the Swachh Bharat Mission, Pro Bono Club Scheme and the National Service Scheme within its academic planning, wherein students interact with different communities as part of their NLUO experience.

The latest initiative of NLUO is Proj­ect Kutumb, wherein the university has adopted three villages, located in adja­cent areas, with the objective of turning them into “Child Friendly Villages”. This is a self-initiated effort of the uni­versity, wherein faculty and students have joined for a sustained commit­ment to provide support to the village communities in various areas. Towards this end, the university has conducted extensive interactions and discussions with communities and stakeholders in the identified villages through house-to-house surveys, focused group discus­sions and key informant interviews to understand the needs and challenges of the villagers. In the next phase of the project, support interventions will be facilitated by the university to ensure realisation of the identified needs. The planned activities also include the creation of Bal Panchayats and Youth Clubs to facilitate capacity building for the young children and youth of the vil­lages. The latest in the series of Project Kutumb is a medical camp organised for residents of all the three villages, with emphasis on children and women. This day-long camp was attended by 103 people.

NLUO has a vibrant research cul­ture focused on social development and nation-building. Through its vari­ous research centres, such as Centre for Tribal Welfare, Centre for Disability Law and Advocacy, Centre for Public Health, Centre for Public Policy, Law and Good Governance, Centre for Criminal Justice and Human Rights, Centre for Poverty and Access to Justice, Centre for Women and Law, Mediation and Negotiation Centre, the university has implemented multiple research projects in the area of access to justice, rights of tribal students, child rights, judicial reforms, public health, women’s safety, etc. For its vari­ous research activities, the university has received funding from the Department of Justice, GoI, National Commission for Women, UNDP, Indian Council of Social Science Research, etc.

NLUO will host the ninth interna­tional conference of the International Society for Child Indicators on the theme of “Global Childhoods: Critical Perspectives Promoting Theoretical, Empirical and Policy Understandings”, scheduled to be held on February 14-16, 2024, in Bhubaneswar.

Educational institutions in India have been experiencing numerous challenges over the past few years. Some of the most pressing ones include outdated curricu­lum, inadequate infrastructure, lack of practical training, and limited access to quality education for students from di­verse backgrounds.

Outdated curriculum in many uni­versities often fails to keep pace with the rapidly evolving legal landscape. Students are often ill-prepared to face the changing nature and requirements of the legal profession since many law schools continue to teach topics and materials that are no longer relevant to the present legal environment. NLUO, being aware of the necessity for an up-to-date cur­riculum, periodically updates its course offerings, including the most recent legal developments, trends, and case laws, after a review by top experts in the area.

Another major challenge is that instead of encouraging students to devel­op critical thinking and problem-solving abilities, law schools in India often place an emphasis on rote learning and memo­rising of legal requirements, leading to a disconnect between their academic train­ing and the practical realities of legal prac­tice. NLUO places a strong emphasis on the development of practical skills and provides opportunities to students to engage in experiential learning through internships, clinical programmes, com­munity visits, debating and moot court competitions. The university adopts teaching techniques to help students de­velop critical thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills necessary for a successful legal career.

Some of the infrastructural chal­lenges faced by the institutions include insufficient libraries, lack of access to advanced online research and case da­tabases, and overcrowded classrooms. When it comes to accessibility and inclu­sivity, many students from rural and eco­nomically disadvantaged backgrounds struggle to access quality education due to financial or geographical constraints, often leading to a lack of diversity in the legal profession. NLUO aims to reduce the financial barriers that may prevent students from pursuing a legal educa­tion by offering several financial aid op­tions and scholarships.

In addition, there is a growing thrust towards privatisation of higher educa­tion. It has led to two consequences. One, the tuition fees have skyrocketed; two, it has led to the mushrooming of higher ed­ucation institutions focused on money­making and profits rather than the noble object of education for personal growth.

In law as a discipline, market economy is determining the introduction of more and more courses relevant for corporates and multinational companies, at the cost of courses like law and society; or law and poverty; or discrimination on the basis of gender; or tribal laws; etc, which affect the marginalised sections of society.

The aspirants for legal education today aspire to take up jobs in multi­national companies, not really to serve the marginalised communities. The compulsory courses on practical skills needed for lawyers prescribed by the Bar Council of India suggest that the only purpose of legal education is to become lawyers. It does not take cog­nisance of the fact that students with law degree also become judges and bu­reaucrats who need different practical skills than lawyers.

Law serves various purposes in society. Sometimes it works as an in­strument of social change by laying down new norms of social behaviour, ensuring dignity and respect to the marginalised, and giving voice to the voiceless, providing equal opportuni­ties to all for development and growth. Sometimes, it reflects or reinforces the social practices that may not be in con­sonance with liberal ideas of equality and liberty. In the area of law, it is well recognised that law is patriarchal, but there is little challenge in law class­rooms to the patriarchal structures recognised and reinforced by law. Similarly, the legal procedures favour the privileged a lot more than the underprivileged, who may not have sufficient resources to access the legal system to secure justice. Legal educa­tion must inculcate critical thinking among the students. Law does not operate in vacuum. It regulates the behaviour of people, lays down norms of right and wrong, creates structures for implementation of laws, and each of these are influenced by the change seekers and those who will be affected by the change. Hence, it is important to make a concerted effort to bring gender, poverty, minority issues in the teaching of law.

About The Author

Ved Kumari

Ved Kumari is Vice-Chancellor, National Law University Odisha