International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ)
INSTITUTIONAL INCEPTION
The School of Law at BRAC University:
It’s Glorious Voyage from 2004 Till Now
Apon Zahir1 & Shahzeb Mahmood2
The BRAC University, established in the year 2001, has riveted its
position as one of the top universities in Bangladesh. Through
persistent deliverance of quality education and fastidiously
articulated schemes to hone leadership skills in both academic and
professional arena, the university has emerged as a premier in the
field of advanced education. With over 3 schools, 4 Institutes and 7
departments; catering over thirty two academic programmes, and
33 extracurricular activity clubs intriguing and alluring students
from all backdrop, the BRAC University’s undeterred commitment
to accord the highest academic standards of education through
exemplary teaching and mentoring of students, and nonpareil
scholarship schemes, has contributed in creating some of the
country's best minds.
The author is a student of LL.B.(Hon’s) under University of London at the
London College of Legal Studies (South).
2 The author is a student of LL.B.(Hon’s) under University of London at the
London College of Legal Studies (South). He is also a former English Club
Moderator at the Daily Star.
1
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The School of Law at BRAC University was formally inaugurated
in 2004, and is characterised as an opportune gateway through
which students are prepared for careers in law, in administrative
services, the judiciary, in the legal stratum and in the development
sector. The faculties of the School of Law (SoL) are notable lawyers
and academicians and are handpicked for their academic
excellence, intellectual eminence, and individual expertise in the
areas of child rights, criminal law, consumer laws, gender studies,
business laws, economics, international laws and human rights,
amongst others. All of these areas of legal study are shared with the
students in their course work, workshops and lecture programs
organised by the School. The University also frequently invites
esteemed lawyers and jurists from outside their faculty to share
their expertise and knowledge in order to provide a comprehensive
practical understanding of how the complex legal fiefdom works in
reality. The members of the faculty brings with them teachinglearning experiences from Universities in the United Kingdom,
Australia, Russia, the United States of America, Canada and
Bangladesh. BRACU’s four-year undergraduate program at the
School of Law culminates into a Bachelor of Laws LL.B. (Hon's)
degree for successful students.
The School of Law is also distinguished in the fact that its students
have access to 33 extracurricular activity clubs from which they
may choose two to participate in. Among these clubs the Law Club
and the Mooting Club are reserved only for students of law.
International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ)
Students participating in these clubs are constantly engaged in
preparing for moot court competitions, debate competitions, and
writing research papers and articles for the Law Club newsletter
‘Acumen’. They are also involved in planning lecture programs
and participate in many social awareness raising activities. The
Moot Court Society of BRACU operates with an aim to increase
understand of law and reduce the scarcity of its knowledge,
thereby producing enlightened, conscious and responsible citizens
of the world. Having participated in over 19 Moot Court
competitions since 2009, at both national and international arena,
the
mooters
representing
BRACU
has
brought
laudable
accomplishments to both its institution and its country. Some of its
commendable victories include securing the Championship title at
the prestigious ICRC Henry Dunant Memorial Moot Court
Competitions 2014, the Championship title at LCLS Moot Court
Competition 2013 and procuring both the Championship and Best
Speaker title in Vertex Chambers Annual Moot Court Competition
2012. The BRACU Debate Club has also made its mark and has
brought home many trophies, both at home and beyond.
An unexampled aspect of the general curriculum of BRACU is the
TARC (Training and Resource Center) Campus in Savar where all
students of the institution must attend a residential semester for
four months. Not only does TARC provide an unparalleled level of
worldly exposure to BRAC students, thereby strengthening kinship
among batch mates and allowing an invaluable opportunity to
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socialise and connect, it also teaches special contextual courses such
as the history of Bangladesh, ethics and morality. The idea behind
TARC is to make students more self-sufficient and less reliant on
parents in the future.
According to Dr. Shahdeen Malik, Director and a Founding
Member of the School of Law at BRAC University, the institution
operates
under
a
strict
philosophy.
Recognising
BRAC’s
background and the goals and commitments of BRAC University,
the School of Law endeavours to impart legal education to seek
legal solutions that respect social, cultural and aesthetic needs of
the people. To meet this goal, it strives to impart to its students not
only the tenets of the law, but also legal philosophy, rights-based
issues and a broader awareness of the society they live in.
Dr. Shahdeen Malik, in an exclusive interview, corroborated that,
‘The reason BRAC University is seen to be the epitome of success is
due to its strict student admission policies. The University does not
judge students through their educational prowess alone but also
takes into consideration whether they have all the proper
attributes, potentials and required competence that define a good
lawyer.’
The admission process at the BRACU involves two scrupulous
examinations, one of them being a logical reasoning test. This
rigorous screening process ensures that quality prevails over
International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ)
quantity in the BRACU campus. This, the professors at the
University exemplifies, is one of the contributing factor behind the
ascendency of the students of BRACU over other universities in
Bangladesh. Graduates from the School of Law are now pursuing
careers as lawyers, judges, corporate legal officers, development
workers and academics and has surpassingly excelled in their
respective line of profession.
Professor K. Shamsuddin Mahmood, Founding Member of the
School of Law at BRAC University, was instrumental in designing
the Curriculum of BRAC School of Law. BRAC is unique in the fact
that it follows a Liberal Arts educational system. Students must
complete stipulated and compulsory major credit courses along
with some general subjects unrelated to law, such as political
science and history, and have the option to select certain facultative
subjects that specialise in specific aspects of the law. This has been
structured to allow the students to maximise the ambit of their
knowledge and employ them in furthering their academic and
professional progression.
Professor Mahmood, who is also the Head of Undergraduate
Programme, further extrapolates that, ‘The reasoning for this broad
range of choice is to allow students the freedom to pursue
education in many other subjects and skill sets and as a result has a
very versatile educational background’.
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International and Comparative Law Journal (ICLJ)
In merely a decade, the School of Law at BRAC University has
accomplished in producing excellent lawyers and prominent legal
populace. From securing the top position at the Bangladesh Judicial
Service Commission examination to making it to the position of
assistant judge, or even senior assistant judge and furthering
academic and professional degrees by becoming Barristers of
England and Wales and pursuing LLM degrees, the graduates of
BRACU School of Law has shown their professional and academic
genius at numerous occasions and has truly attracted the spotlight,
in Bangladesh and abroad.