INTRODUCTION- Criminal law is the shining and most prominent profession for humans
passionate about fixing criminal instances and crimes in society. “Criminal law is one of the
specializations of law courses that offers with the cases associated with crimes”. A character who
practices in criminal law is known as a criminal attorney or a criminal lawyer. Criminal lawyers
can work as criminal defense legal professionals and .defend the person for whom he/she is
fighting the case.
The work description of a criminal attorney or lawyer or advocate entails investigating and
gathering evidence that saves his/her client. A profession in criminal law is best among the other
coveted careers withinside the law field. Criminal legal professionals can work independently
withinside the Indian judicial system. The overall performance and cases taken up by legal
professionals are the fundamental elements in figuring out their expertise to serve in higher
appellate and prestigious courts; for example, from district to a higher court, and from high to
supreme.
Mostly, legal professionals first pick out to function as an intern or work beneath a skilled and
specialised attorney to acquaint themselves with elements and concerns associated with this
field. The activity of an attorney may be extensively researched. Early morning and late nights
are an everyday part of an attorney’s practice. Lawyers can be required to deal with more than
one instance at the same time, and ought to wait for weeks and months for listening to their cases
on different dates.
COURSESUNDERGRADUATE -
To make a career in law at the UG level, aspirants can pursue five-year duration integrated LLB
courses such as BA LLB, BBA LLB, BSc LLB, or BCom LLB. Duration -5 years.
POSTGRADUATE -
● LLM in Criminal Law – 1-year duration
● LLM in Criminal Law and Criminology – 1-year duration
● LLM in Criminal Law and Commercial Law – 1-year duration
● Postgraduate Diploma in Criminal Justice – min duration: 1 year, max duration: 3 years
● Master of Arts (M.A) in Criminology – 2 years duration
● Master of Arts (M.A) in Criminal Justice – 2 years duration
● M.Phil in Criminology.
Diploma Courses:
● Diploma in Criminal Law
● Diploma in Criminology & Penology
ELIGIBILITY –
1. CLASS +2 and Mandatory minimum marks and qualifying test or admission test.
2. Undergraduate in law 3 years or 5year.
ENTERANCE TEST –
Those interested in criminal law are required to take the entrance examination for admission to
master courses in law. Common Law Admission Test (CLAT 2021) is one of the renowned
entrance examination organized by National Law Universities (NLUs) to offer admission in the
NLUs.
Other law entrance exams are as follows:
● AILET
● LSAT
● AIBE
● KIITEE
● CUSAT
ROLE –
1. To represent a client in the court of law
2. To defend the client and produce pieces of evidence in favor of the client
3. To advance arguments
4. To plead for minimum sentence.
5. To cross-examine witnesses
JOB PROFILE-
● Government Advocate/ Public prosecutor
● Government Pleaders in other courts/Assistant Public Prosecutor
● Additional Public Prosecutor
● Special Public Prosecutor
● Criminal Law Practitioner in High court or Supreme court
● Lecturer in Law Universities
● Standing Counsel/ Private practice Skills Required in Criminal Lawyer
● Excellent listening and communication skills.
● Command over Legal terms and Language
● Good advocacy and Experience in courts
● Logical reasoning skills
● Analytical Thinking
● Good understanding of court procedures and evidentiary laws, statutory laws, and Procedural
Laws.
SALARYCriminal Lawyer salary in India ranges between ₹ 0.3 Lakhs to ₹ 10.0 Lakhs with an average
annual salary of ₹ 3.0 Lakhs.
The national average salary for a Public Prosecutor is ₹56,789 in India.
RECOMMENDEE BOOKS –
1.Basic Concepts of Criminal Law by George P. Fletcher
2.The Revised Penal Code: Criminal Law Book One (Hardcover) by Luis B. Reyes
3.Law of Evidence (Set of 4 Vols.) by Woodroffe & Amir Ali.
4.Rethinking Criminal Law by George P. Fletcher
CONCLUSIONIn India, the harsh truth is that the demanding nature of the profession has made many budding
lawyers opt for other opportunities in the legal arena.
Practicing criminal law is less paying in the beginning and career progression is often slow, big
reasons for many young law graduates to shun what was once a glamorous beat. Then there is the
security issue, as a career in criminal law requires dealing often with dangerous criminals with
no job sequrity
.In my opinion , Criminal law is “not lucrative” for young lawyers, until they accumulate
substantial experience in the field,
Very Extensive !!
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