For Law Students
Learning the Law
Ridwanul Hoque
It is often said that, a good lawyer should not be concerned with what is the law on any point but with where the relevant law could be found. This adage tells you half the truth; you must know both 'the law' and where it can be found. That said, it is undeniable that it is impossible for every lawyer (a law student is a lawyer) to know every law. Every law can be known, however, in a rather different way. If you can master the basic attributes of 'the law' and learn about how and for whom it is made, how it is interpreted and what is the end-purpose of the law, then you can say that you 'know' the law. The question of knowing the exact provision of the law comes only later. Let me give you an example. In a case involving the offence of taking a second wife without permission of the 'arbitration council', a High Court Division bench ordered that the amount of fine imposed be paid to the victim first wife. While handing down this judgment, the concerned judge was quite oblivious of section 545 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, where this 'law' was written but knew that (knew the law) he had the discretion to order a criminal fine to be paid to the victim. This is an example of knowing the law. On the question of knowing the law, note the following praise posted on the website of a UK law school perhaps intending to attract new students to them: 'The best thing about [B] Law School is [that law here is] being taught by academic staff who know their subjects inside out and are able to explain complex terms in an understandable way.' Take special note of the words - know their subjects.
Studying law has two prongs: (i) reading (or listening to) the law and (ii) researching the law that involves searching followed by reading and writing. Searching law is an inevitable task in the study of law. To effectively read the law, or to make a difference, every lawyer/student should undertake 'legal research' everyday and in all cases, which does not necessarily mean doing a formal research. They must search for something new either in the form of a case law or statute or scholarly writing. Because of the era of e-information, searching law has become a daunting task. In almost every university, not in Bangladesh though, instructions are provided on how to use e-resources to study law. There are indeed certain techniques in searching law in journals, books, law reporters, and in electronic resources. Gradually, electronic sources of 'law' are increasing in Bangladesh, too. So there should be a corresponding supply-side of this demand.
Writing/researching on law and speaking about law are important parts of legal studies. Anyone aspiring to study law effectively must start saying about the law before audience and must start writing on legal issues in newspapers, law journals or through exam-essays. While writing, one must remember the importance of being critical and creative, which is ground rule of studying law indeed. Most importantly, when the question of 'researching' law comes, students must avoid emulating others or doing 'copy-paste'. Instead, you must learn the rules or techniques of doing legal research (ie skills of using others' materials lawfully). Plagiarism in term-papers or research monographs is an academic offence of thievery, and hence legally prohibited and morally reprehensible.
The students who had written and spoken on law frequently at their law schools have arguably turned out to be the best legal minds in their respective professional life. So there is great virtue in taking part in moots or in attending summer schools and legal workshops. Accordingly, law students must also be effective listeners to legal speakers including their lecturers. If you try to effectively listen even to a speaker who might seem 'boring' or difficult-to-understand you would be able to make profit at the end of the day.
Another major issue is what law books you should read. This is a difficult choice to make, which depends on the availability and economic factors. Good law books in Bangladesh are rarely written. By contrast, whatever good writing are there, they are largely out of access for the students for a number of reasons. Nevertheless, difference can be made by serious and committed law students. Best books and original statutes and decisions have to be studied first. 'Made-easy'-type books, written commercially, may help you pass the examinations (the system of examinations is not free from creeping faults, which might allow both non-reading students pass and widely read students get a low score) but will significantly retard your creativity and the critical mindset. In every legal subject, including those typical and mundane like the law of recovery of public demands, you should combine materials (e.g., best books, case-laws, and comparative materials) to study it effectively.
A successful legal career is not always easily achieved. In every walk of legal life, be you a practitioner, judge, academic, development activist, retained law officer or whatever, you have to continually strive and put much hard labour to achieve the best. Whether you acknowledge or not, and despite exceptions, a great deal of that success comes from your law school, not in terms of what grade you could earn but of how effectively you read the law. To conclude, law should always be read with a critical mind and in constant reference to one's own society.
[This was originally written for a students' souvenir]
The writer is Associate Professor, Department of Law, University of Dhaka.
