‘INDIA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF LEGAL EDUCATION AND RESEARCH, GOA, INDIA (IIULER)’, was created by an Act of the Goa legislature (Goa Act no16 of 2021) on August 13, 2021.
The preamble to the Act mentions about how Bar Council of India set up the National Law School of India University Bangalore in the year 1986 with support from Government of Karnataka as a model institution. Over the years almost all the States have set up national law schools . There are 25 such national law schools in India at present.
Goa as such did not set up a National Law School. Goa has only two districts and each of these districts has one law college, aided by the government of Goa as per the existing grant in aid scheme of Goa. Besides this, Goa University set up the Manohar Parrikar School of Law, Governance and Public Policy encompasses the disciplines of Law, Public Administration, Women's Studies, Social Work, Tribal Studies and Disability Studies, in the year 2021.
The two colleges in Goa conducts both the 3-year LLB as well as 5-year LLB in addition to post graduate LLM programmes, the seats for none of these courses have ever been filled fully, thus indicating that there are more than sufficient opportunities for Goan students to study law. The two law colleges do have good national standing and reputation as institutions of standard comparable to any national law schools in India, besides both the Colleges also have research centres for those desiring to do PhD in law. With nearly 4-5 recognised guides, the intake for PhD programme is about 40 students at any given time. Besides this the establishment of the Manohar Parrikar School of Law gives an added boost and opportunity in Goa for those intending to pursue legal education in Goa .
It is in this legal education scenario, unlike other States in India, where legal education is mostly substandard with many private institutions existing only as centres for economic enrichment of those involved in the establishment of such institutions. Goa definitely has a better legal education atmosphere and opportunities .
Of course establishment of an institution of excellence is always welcome, that too one oriented towards legal research in areas of national concern is a step in the right direction. But the manner of doing this is a matter of grave concern to the future of the State and its people.
The establishment of National Law School, Bangalore gave a new direction and thrust to legal education in India , thanks to its founder Director Prof N R Madhav Menon, whose dedication and hard work resulted in this transformation. But Bangalore National Law School was given only 23 acres of land that too in one of the (then) remotest part of the city.
What shocks one is the result of this comparison and purpose as mentioned in the preamble to the Act in Goa (Goa Act 16 of 2021).It is pertinent to note that the State of Karnataka has a land area of 191,791 sq kms, where as Goa has only 3,702 sq km. That is Goa’s land area is 52 times less than Karnataka. Therefore giving away 50 acres of land is something similar to giving away (50 x 52) 2,600 acres in Karnataka. This gift of huge track of land by Government of Goa , in the name of establishment of a legal education institution, when the State itself has such good and adequate facilities for legal education, is a matter of grave concern to the people of Goa.
Whenever a government in power is handling over government land permanently to any private or public authority or body there is always a larger question to be considered, namely is it in public interest? And to what extent such an action is helpful to the people of the State?
Can a political government, which is temporary (that is for a term of five years), create such lasting and binding obligation of permanent gift of land? What are the real benefits to the people of Goa with the establishment of such an Institution?
This is high time that there is a judicial and impartial enquiry into such acts, because land once given is lost forever. Neither the government of the future or the people of the State can stake any claim on such land. This is all the more important for a State where land is a scarce and may be in the days to come, future governments or people themselves will have better idea and better strategy for land use. Since the India International University of legal education claims that it’s going to be a centre for cutting edge research, why not the University itself takes up this as a research question, whether handing over 50 acres of land for setting up a research university like itself by a government of a State which has only 3,702 sq km in total is justified. And whether to what extent the benefits of such government largesse to a private institution like this University will ultimately benefit the people of Goa both directly and indirectly for the next two decades and thereafter.
An impartial inquiry and open publication of results of such research will determine whether such an exercise by the government was in the right direction and for the welfare of the people.
(The writer is a professor of law and an education consultant)