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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | A remote stint would sensitise law grads by Colin Gonsalves

A remote stint would sensitise law grads by Colin Gonsalves

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published Published on Jan 7, 2012   modified Modified on Jan 7, 2012

Salman Khurshid’s proposal to send law school graduates to remote districts for a year should also benefit those who need free legal aid

THE UNION law ministry’s proposal to send students to practice for a year in far-flung districts of the country after finishing studies is an excellent idea — and long overdue. But it can be a progressive move only if it is thought through properly. Ways have to be found to help these young lawyers, taking their first steps in court, work in a meaningful fashion and develop a social conscience.

First, these lawyers should do an internship with the State and National Legal Aid Authority. These are the mechanisms to provide free legal services to poor people in remote areas. It would be a good idea for the government to improve the facilities first by making financial allocations for expenditure on paperwork by the novice lawyers.

A practical solution would be to connect lawyers with social workers. These are the people who are working with Dalits, tribals, women, undertrials and the disabled. The young lawyers will be able to learn from qualified and experienced social activists on how to select and conduct cases.

The proposed move ought not to be only a ruse. Fresh lawyers ought not to be put on cases all alone — particularly complex cases. If this initiative is seen merely as a backlog reduction exercise and young lawyers are saddled with hundreds of cases, then cases will be mishandled and litigants will suffer.

It is a very good idea and should not turn into a shallow exercise at any cost. It should be a sincere attempt to provide genuine services. In the process it also might give lawyers an experience of the lives of the working people that they remain compassionate all their lives. And the government just can’t say: only take up existing cases. Suppose they go to a remote area and find people in jail without charges, or no water supply, or people are dying of hunger, hospitals without medicine: will they shut their eyes? Suppose they come across a rape case where the police is not filing an FIR: will the government tell them that they can’t file a new case? I don’t think that should be the approach.

IF THE idea is that these law graduates should go to help government prosecutors, it could be a measure that goes against the interests of the Dalits, tribals, the poor and the landless. The government has no dearth of lawyers and it pays them handsomely. It would be deplorable to have young lawyers helping in the prosecution of the very people that civil society wants to defend against the government.

One option could be to leave these lawyers free to choose the clients they want to represent and locate them via the Legal Aid Boards. That is why I would request Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid to involve civil society. They can guide these lawyers on how to provide legal aid services. In fact, it would be good if he sat down and discussed with civil society the whole working of the system of providing free legal aid to those who cannot afford to hire lawyers.

The biggest hurdle, as usual, is the government’s will. Is the government serious about the new proposal and can it ensure it is implemented properly? If so, it will have to spend adequate time and money to prepare serious programmes for these students to fit into. They cannot just be thrown into remote districts without adequate social infrastructure.

If the law minister agrees to this suggestion to involve civil society, we on our part, will not lack enthusiasm. In fact, NGOs working in the area of legal services can take over the administration of the entire project. You can send a doctor to a rural area along with medicines, and he can do his job. But a lawyer is different. He will not know where to get clients from. Sick people might go to a doctor, but not to a new advocate, unless they feel he can understand their problems. Legal work should be connected with social work.

Colin Gonsalves is Founder Director, Human Rights Law Network.

Tehelka Magazine, Vol 9, Issue 02, 14 January, 2012, http://www.tehelka.com/story_main51.asp?filename=Op14012012proscons.asp


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