The Bar Council of India is a

statutory body A statutory body or statutory authority is a body set up by law (statute) that is authorised to implement certain legislation on behalf of the relevant country or state, sometimes by being empowered or delegated to set rules (for example reg ...

established under the section 4 of 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 prescribes standards of

professional conduct Professional conduct is the field of regulation of members of professional bodies, either acting under statutory or contractual powers. Historically, professional conduct was wholly undertaken by the private professional bodies, the sole legal auth ...

etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

s and exercises disciplinary jurisdiction over the bar. It also sets standards for legal education and grants recognition to universities whose degree in law will serve as a qualification for students to enroll themselves as advocates upon graduation.

History

In March 1953, the 'All India Bar Committee', headed by

S. R. Das Sudhi Ranjan Das (1 October 1894 – 18 September 1977) was the 5th Chief Justice of India, serving from 1 February 1956 to 30 September 1959. Das also served as chairman of '' The Statesman''. Background and education S.R. Das was born in ...

, submitted a report which proposed the creation of a bar council for each state and an all India bar council as an apex body. It was suggested that the all India bar council would regulate the legal profession and set the standard of legal education. The

Law Commission of India Law Commission of India is an executive body established by an order of the Government of India. The Commission's function is to research and advise the Government of India on legal reform, and is composed of legal experts, and headed by a reti ...

was assigned the job of assembling a report on judicial administration reforms and helps India to reform justice and equity to whole country. In 1961, the Advocates Act was introduced to implement the recommendations made by the 'All India Bar Committee' and 'Law Commission'. M. C. Setalvad and C. K. Daphtary were the first chairman and vice chairman respectively. In 1963, C. K. Daphtary became the chairman and S. K. Ghose became the vice chairman.

Functions

Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Bar Council of India

Section 7 of the Advocates Act, 1961 lays down the Bar Council's regulatory and representative mandate. The functions of the Bar Council are to: #Lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

s. #Lay down procedure to be followed by disciplinary committees #Safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates #Promote and support

law reform Law reform or legal reform is the process of examining existing laws, and advocating and implementing change in a legal system, usually with the aim of enhancing justice or efficiency. Intimately related are law reform bodies or law commissions, ...

#Deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred by a State Bar Council #Promote legal education and lay down standards of legal education. #Determine universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrollment as an advocate. #Conduct

seminar A seminar is a form of academic instruction, either at an academic institution or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some parti ...

s on legal topics by eminent

jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...

s and publish journals and papers of legal interest. #Organise and provide

legal aid Legal aid is the provision of assistance to people who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system. Legal aid is regarded as central in providing access to justice by ensuring equality before the law, the right to co ...

to the poor. #Recognise foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for admission as an advocate. #Manage and invest funds of the Bar Council. #Provide for the election of its members who shall run the Bar Councils.

Constitution

As per the Advocates Act, the Bar Council of India consists of members elected from each state bar council, and the

Attorney General of India The Attorney General for India is the Indian government's chief legal advisor, and is its chief advocate in the courts. They are appointed by the President of India at the instance of the Union Cabinet under Article 76(1) of the Constitution an ...

and the

Solicitor General of India The Solicitor General of India (SGI) is subordinate to the Attorney General for India. They are the second-highest law officer of the country, assists the Attorney General, and is assisted by Additional Solicitor Generals of India (Addl. SGIs ...

who are ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

'' members. 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.

Present members

Manan Kumar Mishra is the present chairman. He was preceded by Biri Singh Sinsinewar, who was in turn preceded by the current chairman, Manan Kumar Mishra.

Enrollment of advocates

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 enrollment of advocates. The council's enrollment committee may scrutinise a candidate's application. Those admitted as advocates by any state bar council are eligible to take the All India Bar Examination which is conducted by the Bar Council of India. Passing the

All India Bar Examination All India Bar Examination is an examination conducted by Bar Council of India for law graduates willing to start practice of Lawyer. The candidate will be awarded certificate of practice after clearing the examination and is eligible to practice i ...

awards the state-enrolled advocate with a 'Certificate of Enrolment' which enables the state-enrolled advocate to practice law as an advocate in any High Court and lower court within the territory of India. However to practise Law before the Supreme Court of India, Advocates must first appear for and qualify in the Supreme Court Advocate on Record Examination conducted by the Supreme Court.

Committees

The Bar Council of India has various committees which make recommendations to the council. The members of these committees are elected from amongst the members of the council. * Executive Committee: This committee deals with the issues related to management of funds, affairs of the staff, accounts, allotment of work, management of council's affairs, audit, library and legal publications delegation of work. Apurva Kumar Sharma from Assam is the chairman and N. Manoj Kumar from Kerala is the vice chairman of the executive committee at present. *Legal Education Committee: This committee makes recommendations to the BCI on matters related to legal education and sets standards of legal education, visits and inspects universities, recommend the pre =requisites for foreign advocates practicing law in India, recommend recognition or discontinuance of a law degree from a university. Justice A.P. Mishra, Former Judge, Supreme Court of India is the Chairman of the Legal Education Committee. *Disciplinary Committee: This committee reviews applications by persons against summary dismissal of their complaints against advocates for

professional misconduct Professional ethics encompass the personal and corporate standards of behavior expected of professionals. The word professionalism originally applied to vows of a religious order. By no later than the year 1675, the term had seen secular applic ...

, by the state bar councils and appeals against orders of the disciplinary committees of the state bar councils. *Advocate Welfare Association: This committee looks into applications made by advocates for welfare funds. It verifies the application and provides funds. The Advocates Welfare committee is certified by the Advocates Welfare Fund Act, 2001. *Legal Aid Committee: The Legal Aid Committee provides aids to those requiring legal assistance. *Building Committee: The Building Committee is responsible for setting up offices for the council. *Rules Committee: The Rules Committee reviews the rules and regulations of the council. Other than these, there are Finance Committee, Special or Oversee Committee and All India Bar Examination Committee.

Directorate of Legal Education

The Bar Council of India has established a Directorate of Legal Education for the purpose of organising, running, conducting, holding, and administering the following: # Continuing Legal Education # Teachers training # Advanced specialised professional courses # Education program for Indian students seeking registration after obtaining Law Degree from a Foreign University # Research on professional Legal Education and Standardisation # Seminar and workshop # Legal Research # Any other assignment that may be assigned to it by the Legal Education committee and the Bar Council of India.

All India Bar Examination

On 10 April 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. This examination is held biannually and tests advocates on substantive and procedural law. The syllabi for this examination has to be published at least three months before the examination. An advocate may appear for the examination any number of times. Once the advocate passes the examination, they will be entitled to a Certificate of Practice law throughout India. It is clarified that the Bar Examination shall be mandatory for all law students graduating from academic year 2009-2010 onwards and enrolled as advocates under Section 24 of the Advocates Act, 1961. From 2020 onwards, the All India Bar Examination is being conducted only once a year. Moreover, AIBE is no longer an open book examination as BCI banned reference material inside the exam centres in the year 2022. Candidates could only take Bare Acts without comments inside the examination hall. So far 16 editions of the AIBE examination have been conducted successfully allowing law graduates to obtain the Certificate of Practice. In 2022, BCI has also launched mobile application AIBESCOPE, available on both iOS store and Playstore. BCI is planning to make AIBE stricter than its previous editions, as the exam is an evaluation tool to ensure high quality legal education and profession in India.

References

External links

* http://www.allindiabarexamination.com/
First qualifying exam for law grads today
{{Authority control Bar associations of Asia Legal organisations based in India 1961 establishments in India Organizations established in 1961 Regulatory agencies of India