The Dr. Ambedkar International Centre at Windsor Place, New Delhi, in association with the Commonwealth Legal Education Association (CLEA), hosted the first Professor N.R. Madhava Menon Memorial Lecture on “Legal and Justice Education at 2047: An Agenda for 100 Years of Independence” on September 17, 2025. The evening honoured the life and legacy of Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon, widely regarded as the father of modern Indian legal education, while also looking ahead to the future of legal education in India. The programme featured reflections by the Attorney General of India, Dr. R. Venkataramani, an inaugural address by Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai, the launch of three important publications, and the First Memorial Lecture delivered by Justice Surya Kant, Judge at the Supreme Court of India, Executive Chairman of NALSA, and Chief Patron of CLEA.
The ceremony opened with the lighting of the lamp and a welcome address by Col. Akash Patil, Director of DAIC, who warmly acknowledged the presence of judges, academics, lawyers, students, and members of the Bar. “Prof. Menon’s vision was to bridge the gap between legal education and the lived realities of justice. Tonight, we honour that vision and set the course for the century ahead,” he said.
Prof. (Dr.) S. Sivakumar, Senior Professor at the Indian Law Institute and President of CLEA, followed with the introductory address. Prof. Sivakumar described Prof. Menon as a reformer and philosopher of law who “believed that justice must remain the soul of legal education,” urging that this memorial lecture serve as a call to carry his mission forward into the centenary of independence.
Attorney General Dr. R. Venkataramani then reflected on Prof. Menon’s pioneering role in reshaping Indian legal education. “Prof. Menon was both prophet and pragmatist — he had the rare ability to combine vision with action,” he said. Dr. Venkataramani recalled Prof. Menon’s leadership in establishing the National Judicial Academy, strengthening continuing legal education, and shaping law reform. The Attorney General stressed that Menon’s reforms were never confined to classrooms but had ripple effects in courts and communities. “He shaped generations of lawyers not only through syllabi but through the values he imparted. Behind every subject he taught was a moral compass pointing toward justice,” he remarked. Paying tribute to Mrs. Menon’s role, Dr. Venkataramani concluded that while the nation gained immeasurably from Prof. Menon’s life’s work, his passing leaves an irreplaceable void for his family and the wider legal fraternity.
The evening also marked the release of three significant publications that embody Prof. Menon’s ideals of justice, inclusion, and reform. The first, Sustainability and Subsistence: Legal Strategies for a Green Planet, edited by Prof. (Dr.) S. Sivakumar with a foreword by Chief Justice Gavai, commemorates fifty years since the Stockholm Declaration. The book brings together leading voices in environmental law, exploring constitutional mandates, corporate responsibility, sustainable tourism, and community-based conservation, with the editors noting, “This collection maps the legal strategies needed to safeguard our planet’s future while advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.” The second book, Disaster Management Laws in Asia: A Retrospect, with a foreword by Justice Surya Kant, presents comparative insights into disaster law across Asia, highlighting regional vulnerabilities and frameworks for preparedness, response, and recovery. The associate editors, Dr. Ashutosh Raj Anand and Ms. Nabila Zara of CLEA, explained that “each chapter offers lessons on building stronger and safer societies through law and governance.” The third book, Law and Society: During and Post COVID-19 Pandemic, co-edited by Prof. (Dr.) S. Sivakumar and Prof. (Dr.) Lisa P. Lukose with a foreword by Attorney General Dr. Venkataramani, critically reflects on how the pandemic reshaped legal systems and social structures globally. Covering constitutional rights in emergencies, digital justice, migration, indigenous rights, mental health, and the role of Artificial Intelligence, it offers both critical reflection and forward-looking solutions. “This volume is both a reflection on the crisis and a blueprint for innovation in governance and justice,” Prof. Lukose remarked.
In his inaugural address, Chief Justice of India B.R. Gavai paid tribute to Prof. Menon’s transformative role. “Law is not merely a profession but a vocation of public service, grounded in justice and human dignity,” he said. He praised Prof. Menon’s establishment of the five-year integrated programme and the National Law School model, observing that this professionalised legal study had created institutions central to India’s legal landscape. Stressing the need for accessibility, the Chief Justice said, “We must dismantle barriers that exclude students from rural and marginalised communities. Technology, affordability, and regional languages are critical to that goal.” CJI Gavai invoked Roscoe Pound’s concept of the lawyer as a social engineer and urged law schools to go beyond technical training to cultivate ethics, empathy, and civic responsibility. Looking ahead, he added: “From digital privacy and algorithmic bias to human rights and environmental justice, the ultimate goal of legal education is to produce leaders who see law as an instrument for social change.”
Justice Surya Kant then delivered the First Professor N.R. Madhava Menon Memorial Lecture on Legal and Justice Education @ 2047: An Agenda for 100 Years of Independence, paying tribute to Prof. Menon as the “teacher of teachers.” “Prof. Menon’s legacy is not confined to institutions he founded, but to the ideals he instilled — that law is a public good, a tool for justice, and a cornerstone of democracy,” he said. Justice Surya Kant built his reflections around three pillars of reform.
The first pillar, Justice Kant explained, was modernisation: “We must move beyond outdated models and embrace a digital-first pedagogy that equips students to excel in a fast-evolving ecosystem of law and technology.” He called for integrating constitutional principles with emerging fields such as economics, data science, and environmental studies.
The second pillar was ethics and responsibility. “Legal education is not merely doctrinal study — it is about ethics, responsibility, and justice. The lawyer of 2047 must be fluent in two languages: the language of law and the language of the people,” Justice Kant observed, urging law schools to embed community service, legal aid, and clinical training in their curricula. Adding to this, Justice Surya Kant mentioned that “the study of law must never be carried out in ivory towers, detached from the real struggles of society.”. Justice Kant said that inculcating this pillar of justice-oriented training would mean that young graduates would live by the maxim “Fiat justitia, ruat caelum” which means ‘let justice be done, though the heavens may fall’.
The third pillar was inclusivity. Justice Kant said that the third pillar focuses on a deeply urgent cause – to make legal education accessible to all, and to ensure that the promise of justice is not confined to the privileged few. Warning against elitism in law schools, he said: “This is not an administrative issue alone; it is a profound contradiction of our constitutional promise.” Justice Kant advocated for mentoring between elite and regional institutions, resource sharing, and hybrid learning to expand opportunities for underserved students. Concluding, Justice Surya Kant declared: “Prof. Menon did not just found institutions — he founded intent. If we hold fast to that intent, placing people before process, we will build a legal education system that is democratic, inclusive, and unwavering in its commitment to liberty, equality, and fraternity.”
The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Ms. Ruchi Sharma D., Joint General Secretary of CLEA, who expressed gratitude to the dignitaries, authors, editors, and volunteers. “This evening not only honoured a visionary but renewed our collective resolve to make legal education a living force for justice and equality,” she said. The ceremony closed with high tea and an interactive session where books were presented to their authors.