The PCL Protocol: Observations and Strategic Refinement - Adv Johnson Gomez

 


A Report on Clinical Legal Education and Institutional Reality

The Institutional Paradox: Sentiment vs. Reality

For over two months, we were testing the PCL Protocol at Government Law College, Ernakulam, through our "Navigating the High Court" course. This institution is like the proverbial elephant; those who love it perceive a majestic creature of history and law. However, to an outsider—unshielded by alumni sentiment—the image is far less romantic. One sees crumbling infrastructure and a heritage building defaced by a chaotic patchwork of union flags and amateur political placards—a stark contrast between its intellectual legacy and its physical neglect.

Structural Hurdles in Student Engagement

Student participation was notably unstable, fluctuating significantly between sessions. I do not believe the students are to blame; rather, this instability was a symptom of a flawed selection architecture. Without a formal induction or a rigorous vetting process, the program lacked the necessary "buy-in" to compete with the students' existing commitments. The beta testing of a new protocol remained a priority only for PCL, as no institutional mechanism was in place to align the candidates' goals with the program's objectives.

Furthermore, the timing of the course was fundamentally at odds with the academic calendar. The "Saturday Session" model proved practically impossible, colliding with a high-density period of vivas, semester exams, ADR events, and festivals between January and April. Because this batch is nearing its July 2026 exit, their focus was understandably elsewhere. Consequently, the central theme of the PCL Protocol—acting as the "guardian angel" or the initiator of a robust legal aid center—was frequently lost in the shuffle of their departing priorities.

Operational Pivot: The "Firefighting" Strategy

To sustain the momentum of the PCL Protocol testing amidst these institutional hurdles, we have transitioned into a "firefighting" mode by consolidating a core group of the most consistent attendees to serve as our primary focus. While this pivot was necessary to maintain the integrity of the data, it creates a procedural concern. As practitioners in the High Court, we are trained that "notice" is the cornerstone of fairness. To exclude the less frequent attendees without formal notice feels contrary to the very professional ethics we are teaching.

To uphold the principle of natural justice, PCL will issue a formal notice to the broader student body explaining this transition and offering a "Right of Return." Once the protocol is finalized and the testing phase is complete, we will provide a secondary, refined "bridge session" for those who missed out.

The Curriculum Gap: Mixtures vs. Compounds

Returning to the undergraduate environment to review the curriculum after thirty-four years has provided a profoundly different understanding of legal education in this country. In my co-authored book, The Unwritten Conundrum: Cracking an Implicit Code, I argued that the Bar Council of India is falling short of its mandate to prepare students for the actual practice of law. I contended that the current double-degree program is creating "mixtures" rather than "compounds" suitable for practice-ready professionals.

My recent tenure with the students at Government Law College has provided empirical evidence for this. The inability of the system to prioritize professional clinical training over a cluttered schedule of exams and internal events confirms that the transition from student to practitioner remains a fractured process rather than a cohesive synthesis.

Critical Omissions in Modern Legal Training

The current curriculum features two papers on Family Law, yet it remains silent on the Family Courts Act 1984, leaving students ignorant of the vital jurisdictional boundaries between Family Courts and the High Court in matrimonial matters. Furthermore, while domestic laws remain geographically confined, the syllabus fails to include International Commercial Arbitration—the only legal framework in the country capable of resolving cross-border commercial disputes.

As trade deals between India and the EU or the US progress, our law students are relegated to being mute spectators, ill-equipped to participate in the global economy. To compound this, I discovered that Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) is treated as a minor topic without even a formal university examination, further proving that the system prioritizes academic rote learning over the actual instruments of modern legal practice.

Strategic Evolution: The NUALS Collaboration

Following a productive academic interaction with Vice-Chancellor Dr. G.B. Reddy and the senior faculty at NUALS, we have significantly updated the PCL Protocol. The faculty identified two critical shortcomings in our initial structure:

  1. Jurisdictional Scope: Our focus was limited to appellate jurisdiction.

  2. Credit Calibration: We lacked a defined hour-based system for the training.

Our team has since rectified these gaps. The Protocol now includes a robust component on the institution of suits, specifically focusing on commercial disputes exceeding the ₹1 crore pecuniary threshold. We recognize that mastering the appellate jurisdiction of the High Court is impossible without a foundational understanding of the original jurisdiction of civil courts.

The 40-Hour Clinical Model

To reflect this expanded scope, the Protocol is now structured as a 40-hour comprehensive program:

  • 10 Hours: Online instruction (Review and Refresh).

  • 10 Hours: Structured reading via Moodle.

  • 20 Hours: Intensive face-to-face clinical sessions (Diagnosis and Application).

The online components are intended to refresh the academic foundations from regular classes, while the face-to-face sessions focus on the "sharp end" of legal training: the diagnosis of legal issues and the actual application of law to facts.

Conclusion: Reclaiming the Apprenticeship

Ultimately, this period of testing and refinement has served as a powerful "ground-truthing" for the PCL Protocol. The systemic friction encountered at the undergraduate level—from dilapidated infrastructure to a curriculum that leaves students "mute" in the face of global commerce—only reinforces the urgency of our mission. By incorporating the invaluable feedback from NUALS, we have evolved the Protocol from a specialized study of appellate procedure into a comprehensive bridge between theory and practice.

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