LHC suspends LLB five-year course in private law colleges

A full bench of the Lahore High Court here on Friday suspended Literally Legum Baccalaureus (LLB) five years program in private law colleges and restored evening classes of LLB. The bench headed by Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah however allowed the universities to run five-year LLB program at their constituent law colleges. A commission formed by the court to examine quality of legal education imparted by the institutions in Punjab had expressed concerns on the output of five-year program.
In its report, commission's chairman Anwar Kamal found a total lack of coordination between universities, federal and provincial higher education commissions and the provincial bar councils in the matter of affiliating law colleges. The commission said five-year syllabus also gave rise to certain anomalies as the first two years courses were not related to law, being political science, sociology, English and Arabic. It said the three-year remaining syllabus was identical to earlier three-year LLB course.
The commission expressed serious concern over the syllabus and pointed out that there was no exit strategy for students who had opted for five-year program and they had no option but to complete the program or to drop out with no credit. It recommended that the universities should be directed to grant affiliation to only those colleges meeting minimum standards set by the Pakistan Bar Council, HECs and universities.
The bench adjourned further hearing for a date to be fixed by office with an observation that the order of suspending the five-year program would be enforced in new admissions. Several law students had filed petitions challenging the five-year program and age limit policy implemented on the proposal of Pakistan Bar Council.
Safdar Shaheen Pirzada advocate on behalf of the petitioners contended that it was the fundamental right of every citizen to be educated in law or in any other profession and no rule could be made to discourage people from getting higher education, especially by fixing the age limit. The bench had struck down the age-limit policy and formed the commission.