Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
The Indian legal system is founded on the principles of justice, liberty, equality, fraternity, unity and integrity. It highlights the ethical values related to fairness, reasonability, rationality, transparency and accountability, which ensure access to justice as well as ease to justice. The glaring foundations of our legal education are based on the famous adage ‘Yatho Dharma, thatho Jayaha’, which means that where there is righteousness, there will be victory. The idea of justice is a part of our cultural and historical context. Legal education can be a significant tool for achieving a just and equitable society. It is the foundation for creating skilled, socially and morally responsible lawyers, who are prepared to fight for the cause of justice. Quality legal education provides tremendous potential to enhance access to justice by focusing on ethical principles, social justice and imparting practical skills, a transdisciplinary approach and technical competency to the students. In India, modern clinical legal education started with the five-year integrated law programme which gained popularity in the early twenty-first century. Although the primary objective of starting clinical legal education was to impart practical industry-oriented training to law students, now the recent trend also suggests the inclusion of legal aid programmes and specialized professional training with the directives of the courts to achieve access to justice. The legal aid clinics of prominent law universities, colleges and schools are playing a pivotal role in helping the underserved and marginalized section of society to have access to justice by way of legal aid programmes, awareness workshops and paralegal training. This article will explore the intricate relationship between legal education and societal access to justice and will shed light on the role that a law school ought to play in advancing access to justice. It will also explore several ways in which legal education supports the development of an inclusive, egalitarian, dynamic, progressive, peaceful and just society.
Sharma et al. (Wed,) studied this question.