Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh is the regulatory and statutorily representative body for

lawyers A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicitor, ...

practicing law in the state of

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

. It was constituted as per the mandatory requirement as per

Advocates Act, 1961 Legal practice in India is governed by the Advocates Act 1961; an act passed by the Indian Parliament which provides for laws relating to legal practitioners in India and to provide for the constitution of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and state ba ...

and

Bar Council of India The Bar Council of India is a statutory body 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 ...

. In March 1953, the 'All India Bar Committee', headed by S. R. Das, submitted a report which proposed the creation of a bar council for each state and an all-India bar council as an apex body. Members of the Bar Council are elected from among members enrolled and practicing as lawyers in the state of Andhra Pradesh and they represent the state in Bar Council of India meetings. Bar Council of a place designs 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 aut ...

to be followed by members, and designs

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 has the power to enforce disciplinary guidelines over the members of bar council.

History

Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh was formed as per the requirement of Section 3 of Advocates Act, 1961 which mandates for each state of India to have its Bar Council. Accordingly, in July 2018, the Andhra Pradesh State Bar Council was formed. As per the guidelines the legal profession in India and the standards of legal education would be regulated by All India Bar Council. 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. In July 2021, the state Bar Council along with Bar Councils of other Southern states of India had requested the Vice-president Mr Venkaiah Naidu and Supreme Court Chief Justice Hon. N. V. Ramana for the setting up of separate bench for Southern India.

Functions

Section 7 of the Advocates Act, 1961 lays down the Bar Council's regulatory and representative mandate. Bar Councils of each place has following functions: #Facilitating the election with rules for members to get elected and managing the Bar Council. #Designing the professional behaviours and code to be followed by

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 who are its members.. #Laying down guidelines for disciplinary committees and other committees formed by it. #Protecting the advocate members rights, benefits, and safeguarding their interests. #Designing, promoting and supporting

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, w ...

as per changing circumstances. #Handling and resolving other issues or any matter placed before it by its members in ad hoc situations. #Designing and promoting legal education in country and states. #Designing and organising

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 wide legal topics in the interest of members by reputed

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 publishing them in journals and magazines of legal circles and other sources of media. #Facilitating

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 those who can't afford it. #Ensuring that guidelines laid in various legal forums are followed by members. In year 2020, as

COVID Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

relief, the Andhra Pradesh Bar Council offered financial assistance to its members and asked the needful members to apply online.

Constitution

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. Voting rights in elections are available only for advocates having Certificate of Practice. Till year 2018, there were around 97,600 enrolled as members of the State Bar Council. As per the Advocates Act, the bar council of the state should have 25 members in case the members on roll exceeds 10000, the same has been followed by Andhra Pradesh Bar Council.

Enrollment of advocates

Graduates having a law degree from recognised universities permitted to impart legal education are admitted as advocates in Andhra Pradesh Bar Council. Law graduates can enroll online for Andhra Pradesh Bar Council. State bar councils are empowered by Advocates Act, 1961 to frame rules according to their convenience for enrolling advocates in council. Enrollment committee formed by Councils will scrutinise a prospective member's application. Enrolled advocates of any bar council in state are considered as eligible to write the All India Bar Examination conducted by Bar Council of India. After clearing the exam, he is certified by Bar Council of India and issued 'Certificate of Enrolment', which facilitates him to practice the profession of law in any High Court based in India and lower courts of the country, as an advocate. Advocates are required to qualify in the exam known as "Supreme Court Advocate on Record Examination" which is conducted by the Supreme Court exclusively to practice in the Supreme Court of Country.

References

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External links