As of April 23, 2025, the Bar Council of India (BCI) has announced the formation of a high-level committee to examine and recommend a framework for equating one-year and two-year LL.M. degrees. This decision follows a joint stakeholder meeting held on April 22, 2025, which was chaired by Professor (Dr) VC Vivekanandan, Vice-Chancellor of Hidayatullah National Law University (HNLU), and attended by Vice-Chancellors, Deans, and senior faculty members from various National Law Universities (NLUs), state universities, and affiliated law colleges.

The committee will be led by a former Chief Justice of India (CJI) and will include academicians from NLUs, central and state universities, private law schools, and affiliated law colleges. Its mandate includes reviewing and recommending frameworks for equivalency between one-year and two-year LL.M. degrees, designing appropriate structures for pedagogical training, harmonizing postgraduate curricula, …

This development comes in the wake of a Supreme Court order on February 11, 2025, which raised concerns about the BCI’s mandate requiring one-year LL.M. degree holders to undergo one year of teaching experience … degrees to be recognized. The BCI’s decision to form this committee aims to address these concerns and provide clarity on the equivalency of one-year and two-year LL … .

The committee is expected to be set up … , and its recommendations could have significant implications for the recognition and equivalency of LL.M. degrees in India.

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