BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA

·         The Bar Council of India is a statutory body created by Parliament to regulate and represent the Indian bar.

·         It was established under the Advocates Act 1961 that regulates the legal practice and legal education in India.

·         Its members are elected from amongst the lawyers in India and as such represents the Indian bar.

·         It performs the regulatory function by prescribing standards of professional conduct and etiquette and by exercising disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar.

·         It also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to Universities whose degree in law will serve as qualification for enrolment as an advocate.

·         In addition, it perform certain representative functions by protecting the rights, privileges and interests of advocates and through the creation of funds for providing financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for them.

·         Bar Council’s regulatory and representative mandate for the legal profession and legal education in India are :

·         To lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.

·         To lay down procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committees of each State Bar Council.

·         To safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates.

·         To promote and support law reform.

·         To deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council.

·         To promote legal education and to lay down standards of legal education. This is done in consultation with the Universities in India imparting legal education and the State Bar Councils.

·         To recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate. The Bar Council of India visits and inspects Universities, or directs the State Bar Councils to visit and inspect Universities for this purpose.

·         To conduct seminars and talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest.

·         To organise legal aid to the poor.

·         To recognise on a reciprocal basis, the foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for the purpose of admission as an advocate in India.

·         To manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council.

·         To provide for the election of its members who shall run the Bar Councils.

·         The Bar Council of India consists of members elected from each state bar council, and the Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India who are ex officio members. The members from the state bar councils are elected for a period of five years.

·         The council elects its own Chairman and Vice-Chairman for a period of two years from amongst its members. Assisted by the various committees of the Council, the chairman acts as the chief executive and director of the Council.

·         Eligible persons having a recognised law degree are admitted as advocates on the rolls of the state bar Councils. The Advocates Act, 1961 empowers state bar councils to frame their own rules regarding enrolment of advocates.

·         On April 10, 2010, the Bar Council of India resolved to conduct an All India Bar Examination that tests an advocate’s ability to practice law. It is required for an advocate to pass this examination to practice law. The objective of The All India Bar Examination (AIBE) is to examine an advocate's capability to practice the profession of law in India.