The Faculty of Law of the University of Chittagong was established along with other Faculties in 1966. It was established as a non teaching Faculty, meaning that there was no
teaching Department under it. Legal education was not imparted in the University campus. Faculty's main function was to exercise administrative and academic control over all the
law colleges of Chittagong Division which were then affiliated with Chittagong University. The Faculty of Law witnessed its rebirth when a teaching Department, namely Department
of Law, was opened in October, 1992. Dr Shah Alam, Associate Professor of the Department of Law, University of Rajshahi, joined the Chittagong University Department of Law as an
Associate Professor, became its founding Chairman and also the Dean of the reorganized Faculty of Law. The Faculty of Law is still in the old administrative building and will
be moved soon to A.K KHAN Ain Bhaban, which is currently under-construction. The proposed A.K. Khan Ain Bhaban is being constructed with generous support from the A.K. Khan
Foundation.
In common Law countries, in most cases, because law as a discipline has its own distinctive features, need separate treatment. It is taught in separate
schools or faculties which have grown as distinct institutions within the broader framework of the University in some cases diversification or bifurcation into more than one
Department, under the Faculty of Law has taken place, but in most cases, has not. In Bangladesh there has been some talk of dividing the existing Department of Law into Civil
Law, Criminal Law or International Comparative Law. Some would even like to see Constitutional Law as farming a separate Department. The idea is to have several Departments
under the Faculty of Law. Some initiatives have also been taken in the direction, but all are in very rudimentary phases.
Chittagong University Faculty of Law
and Department of Law are comparatively young. Teachers now numbering 18 are young as well, but they are academically very sound and dedicated to their profession-teaching
and research. Students' strength is about 600. The Faculty offers four year LL.B. (Hon's) and one year LL.M. courses. Syllabuses are endorsed by the Bar Council of Bangladesh,
for otherwise our students would not be allowed to sit for Bar Council examination which the law graduates are required to pass to qualify to become lawyers. So far fifteen
batches have graduated from the Faculty. Their records in professional life appear to be excellent. Graduates' performance in the Bar Council examination has been highly
commended by the Bar authorities. Graduates have also successfully entered other professions. A significant number of graduates have entered judicial service after successfully
qualifying in the competitive examination under the Judicial Service Commission. One advantage of legal education is that law degree offers multiple prospects. This is
naturally reflected in large number of application received every year for admission to First Year Honours Course Ratio often crosses 100:1.
Chittagong
University Faculty of Law offers some unique opportunities which in many respects are lacking in other universities. Its curriculum has new additions, teaching methodology
is more practice oriented and clinical in nature, and two full compulsory papers on English language are taught. Recently the curriculum has further been revised, expended
and updated to add more subjects and courses-both specialized and allied. As part of our efforts to make the curriculum inter-disciplinary as far as possible, one notable
inclusion in it, besides others, is fundamentals of Economics. Introduction of the thesis group for the top students and compulsory submission of individual field study
report by the students of LL.M. are some other Innovations of the new curriculum.
It is hoped that the Department of Law will continue to contribute towards the advancement
of legal education and present the nations new generation of professionals in the judiciary as well as in the other sectors of national life.
