AIBE 20 Professional Ethics 2025: Syllabus, Topics, Important Cases, Books

AIBE 20 Professional Ethics 2025: The Bar Council of India prescribes the AIBE 20 syllabus through its official website. The AIBE 20 syllabus 2025 has a total of 19 subjects derived from the 3-year and 5-year LLB curriculum. Professional Ethics is also one of the subjects in the All India Bar Examination. A total of four questions are asked from the Professional Ethics & Cases of Professional Misconduct under Bar Council of India Rules. In this article, we will discuss the AIBE 20 Professional Ethics syllabus 2025, topics, sub-topics, important cases, recommended books and more.

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AIBE 20 Administrative Syllabus 2025

The detailed syllabus of AIBE 20 (XX) Administrative Syllabus 2025 below:

Part A - Advocacy

The Advocates Act, 1961

Introduction

1. Brief History of Legal Profession in India

2. Judge Edward Abbott Parry, The Seven Lamps of Advocacy (1923)

3. Bar Councils- Sections-4 to 7: Bar Council of India, Bar Council to be body corporate, Functions of State Bar Councils and Functions of Bar Council of India

4. Admissions and Enrollment of Advocates – Section- 16: Senior and other Advocates, Section-17 – State Bar Councils to maintain roll of Advocates, Section -22- Certificate of Enrollment, Section- 24: Persons who may be admitted as an Advocates on state roll, Section- 24A: Disqualification for Enrollment, Section 26A: Power to remove names from roll.

5. Right to Practice: Section 29-30, 33: Advocates to be only recognized class of persons entitled to practice, Right of Advocates to Practice

6. Conduct of Advocates and Disciplinary Proceedings: Section 35-36, 37-38:

7. Punishment of Advocates for misconduct, Disciplinary Powers of Bar Council of India, Appeal to Bar Council of India, Appeal to the Supreme Court

Reading Material: Fifty Selected opinions of the Disciplinary Committees of Bar Councils [only soft copy will be supplied to students]

Important Cases

• Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India and Others, AIR 2017 SC 5017

• Bar Council of India v. A K Balaji and Ors, (2018) 5 SCC 379

Contempt of Court - Contempt of Courts Act, 1971

1. Contempt - Meaning and Purpose section

2. Civil Contempt

3. Criminal Contempt

4. Criminal Contempt - Mens Rea Principle in Contempt Cases Contempt by State Government

5. Defences– Sections 3 to 8

6. Innocent Publication, Fair and accurate report of judicial proceedings, Fair Criticism of Judicial act, Complaint against presiding officers of subordinate courts, Publication of information relating to proceedings in camera & other defences, Contempt and Freedom of Speech.

7. Contempt by Judges & Magistrates- Section 16

8. Punishment for Contempt - Sections 10 to 13

9. Power of the High Court to punish contempt of subordinate courts and try offences

10. committed outside jurisdiction, Punishment for Contempt and Contempt not punishable

11. in certain cases, Purging of contempt

12. Procedure Section 14- 15, 17-18 (2-3 Lectures)

13. Procedure where contempt is in the face of the Supreme Court or High Court, Cognizance of Criminal Contempt, Procedure after Cognizance AND Hearing of Criminal Contempt cases by Benches.

Important Cases

• Maninderjeet Singh Bitta v.UOI, (2011) 11 SCALE 634

• R.K. Anand v. Registrar, Delhi High Court, (2009) 8 SCC 106

• In Re Arundhati Roy, AIR 2002 SC 1375

• Mrityunjoy Das v. Sayed Rahaman, AIR 2001 SC 1293

• In Re: Hon’ble Justice C S Karnan, AIR 2017 SC 3191

• Bhuramal Swami v. Raghuveer Singh &Ors. 143 (Judgement delivered on 21st Oct 2016)

• Perspective Publication v. State of Maharashtra, AIR 1970 SC 221

• Narmada Bachao Andolan v. UOI, AIR 1999 SC 3345

• EMS Naboodiripad v. T Narayanan Nambiar, 1970 KLJ 859

• SC Bar Association v. UOI, AIR 1998 SC 1895

• Smt. Pushpaben & others v. Narandas V Badani, AIR 1979 SC 1535

• Daroga Singh v. B K Pandey, (2004) 5 SCC 26

• Pravin C. Shah v. K.A. Mohd. Ali, (2001) 8 SCC 650

• R.K. Anand v. Registrar, Delhi High Court, (2009) 8 SCC 106

• R. Muthukrishnan v. The Registrar General of the High Court of Judicature at Madras, AIR 2019 SC 849

• Bal Thackery v. Harish Pimpa and Others, (2005) 1 SCC 254E

Further readings:

• Law Commission of India, Report No.274: Review of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 (Limited to Section 2 of the Act), April 2018.

• Law Commission of England and Wales, Report –Contempt of Court: Scandalising the Court (2012).

• Abhinav Chandrachud, Republic of Rhetoric: Free Speech and the Constitution of India (Penguin 2017) 155-217.

PART –B: Professional Ethics

1. Rules Governing Advocates

2. Restrictions on Senior Advocates

3. Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette

4. Duty to the Court

5. Duty to the Client

6. Duty to the opponent

7. Duty to Colleagues

8. Duty in Imparting Training

9. Duty to render Legal Aid

10. Section on other employments

Important Cases

• An Advocate v. Bar Council of India, 1989 Supp (2) SCC 25

• Salil Dutta v. T.M. and M.C. (P) Ltd. (1993) 2 SCC 185

• C. Ravichandran Iyer v. Justice A.M. Bhattacharjee, (1995) 5 SCC 457

• P.D. Gupta v. Ram Murti, (1997) 7 SCC 147

• Kaushal Kishore Awasthi v. Balwant Singh Thakur and Ors., AIR 2018 SC 199

• T.C. Mathai v. District & Sessions Judge, Thiruvananthapuram, (1999) 3SCC 614

• R.D. Saxena v. Balram Prasad Sharma, (2000) 7 SCC 264

• D.P. Chadha v. Triyugi Narain Mishra, (2001) 2 SCC 221

• Shambhu Ram Yadav v. Hanuman Das Khatry, (2001) 6 SCC 1

• Ex-Capt. Harish Uppal v. Union of India, (2003) 2 SCC 45

• Mahipal Singh Rana v. State of U.P., MANU/SC/0730/2016

• Anees Ahmed v. University of Delhi, AIR 2002 Del. 440

PART C- Accountancy for Lawyers

Management of time, human resources, office, etc, Accountancy knowledge for lawyers (like evidentiary aspects, interpreting financial accounting statements in the process of lawyering, etc), Nature and functions of accounting, important branches of accounting. Accounting and Law, Use of knowledge of accountancy in Legal Disputes especially arising out of Law of Contracts, Tax Law, etc.

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AIBE 20 Professional Ethics Syllabus - Recommended Books for Preparation of Books

Here are some recommended books to ace the Professional Ethics subject of AIBE 20:

1. Krishnaswami Iyer’s Professional Conduct and Advocacy (1945)

2. GCV Subba Rao, Commentary on Contempt of Courts Act 1971 (2014)

3. Ranadhir Kumar De, Contempt of Court Law & Practice (2012), Wadhwa Book Company.

4. Francis L. Wellman, The Art of Cross-Examination

5. Dr Kailash Rai, Legal Ethics, Accountability for Lawyers and Bench-Bar Relations (2015).

Other Suggested Readings

1. Justice Mirza Hameedullah Beg, Role of the Bench and the Bar

2. J.W. Smyth Q.C., The Art of Cross Examination (1961)

3. Champ S. Andrews, The Law: A Business or a Profession (1908)

4. Ben W. Heineman, Jr., William F. Lee, David B. Wilkins, Lawyers as Professionals and as Citizens: Key Roles and Responsibilities in the 21st Century (2014)

5. Geoffey C. Hazard Jr., Responsibilities of Judges and Advocates in Civil and Common Law: Some Lingering Misconceptions Concerning Civil Lawsuits (2006)