N. R. Madhava Menon
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| N. R. Madhava Menon | |
 Professor Menon at a speech at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences
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| Born | May 4, 1935[1] Trivandrum, India |
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| Nationality |  India |
| Occupation | Legal educator |
| Known for | Founding the National Law School of India University and reorganizing West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences |
N. R. Madhava Menon (born May 4, 1935 in Trivandrum, India) is a famous legal educator from India. He was instrumental in setting up the National Law School of India University in Bangalore, and was its founder-director. He has since gone on to administrate other law schools based on the NLSIU model, most notably the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) in West Bengal, Calcutta. He currently holds position of Director at the National Judicial Academy, Bhopal, an institute for training of judges. Known as one of the long-serving, popular legal educators of the country, an institution-builder, the architect of the five-year integrated LL.B. programme and the Founder Vice-Chancellor of two of the leading law universities of India (National Law School of India University, Bangalore and National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata), Prof. (Dr.) N.R. Madhava Menon has worked assiduously for nearly five decades to put Indian legal education at par with those of the developed countries.
As a member of the Legal Education Committee of the Bar Council of India and later as the first Secretary of the Bar Council Trust, Dr. Menon influenced the shaping of legal education policies particularly in respect of the integrated 5-Year LL.B. Degree Course facing many challenges from within and outside the profession.
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[edit] Personal life
Prof. Madhava Menon was born and raised in Trivandrum (Kerala) and is married to Smt. Rema Devi, who is a housewife. Their son, Mr. R.K. Menon is an engineer settled in Bangalore. Author of several books, articles and monographs on a variety of legal subjects, Prof. Menon has taught law in over a dozen universities worldwide during a long academic career spanning nearly five decades.
[edit] Career
When the Bar Council of India proposed building a new law school in early 1980s, he volunteered for the job and set up the Bangalore-based National Law School of India University with a USD $150,000 government grant. It first taught the Harvard Law School's case study method, which later became the mainstream form of legal education for India. After a 10-year tenure at the university, he relinquished the job.
Soon, Dr. Menon was invited by the West Bengal Government to set up the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS) on the lines of the Bangalore initiative. As the first vice-chancellor he built up in a remarkably short period of three years, its infrastructure, educational curriculum and repute within the academic / student community. In particular, he allowed the faculty great creative freedom in teaching (especially with his first batch of students), the result of which has been a set of law graduates with a broad knowledge of many disciplines.
Before Prof. Menon could complete his term as the vice-chancellor of NUJS in West Bengal, the Supreme Court of India asked Prof. Menon to assume charge as the first Director of the newly established all-India training institution for judges in Bhopal. Dr. Menon is the first Director of the National Judicial Academy which is now shaping policies and programmes for continuing education and training of superior court judges throughout the country, a task distinctly different from what he has been doing for the last four decades and more. From legal education to judicial education, from instructing law students to imparting training for judges, the transition put Prof. Menon on a new path of scholarship and institutional development in support of the judiciary.
Dr. Menon has also been:
- Member of the Law Commission of India
- Member of several expert committees including:
- The one on Legal Aid (1973)
- The Civil Services Examination Reform committee (2000-2001)
- Criminal Justice Reform (2002-2003), appointed by the Government of India
- The chairman of the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, and of the Centre for Development Studies, Trivandrum.
As of 2008, he is serving on the Board of Governors of the International Organization of Judicial Trainers (IOJT) and also adviser to the Commonwealth Judicial Education Institute (Canada).
[edit] Awards and recognition
Appreciating the efforts for founding the National University of Juridical Sciences, the International Bar Association honoured Dr. Menon with the Living Legend of Law Award in 1994, followed by the Rotary Club Award for Vocational Excellence. The Bar Council of India presented a Plaque of Honour to Dr. Menon for his contribution to the legal profession and the Commonwealth Legal Education Association elected him as its President for a four year term (1994-98).
Recognizing his contribution to public services, the President of India, Dr. A.P. Abdul Kalam, honoured Dr. Menon in 2003 on the occasion of the Republic Day with Padma Shree, the first such award to a law teacher in India.
The National Law School of India University in 2001 conferred on Dr. Menon the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) (Honoris Causa) and praised him:
...Revolutionizing Indian legal education has been the life’s mission of this true Karma Yogi who achieved what was widely considered an impossible task – establishing an institution of excellence in Indian legal education. Dr. N.R. Madhava Menon single handedly wrought fundamental change in Indian legal education and established a model that is today sought to be emulated across our country and in several other countries. It is but rarely that a University has the opportunity not only to honour a great scholar, a great teacher and a great leader, but also the very individual to whom it owes its existence and success; whose vision, courage and sacrifice lie at the core of its identity. We honour today the father of modern Indian legal education; we also record our deepest gratitude to our own Founding Father for his selfless dedication and hard work in the service of our beloved institution.
