What is Bar Council of India: Role, Functions, Enrollment and Regulations

What is Bar Council of India?

The Bar Council of India is a statutory body established by the Parliament of India under the Advocates Act 1961. The 'All India Bar Committee', headed by S. R. Das, in 1953, envisaged the Bar Council of India as a regulatory body for the legal profession and legal education. Today, the Bar Council of India not only oversees legal practices, and etiquette but also regulates legal education. Bar Council also grants recognition to the universities that want to offer legal education in India. It is mandatory for Indian law schools to get recognised by the Bar Council of India and follow the guidelines prescribed by it.

Another important aspect of the Bar Council of India is that it represents the advocates’ community by protecting their rights, privileges and interests. Even the matters of complaint against practising advocates are dealt with by the council through a given procedure.

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Bar Council of India - Constitution

Bar Council of India is the apex body and it gives representation to all state bar councils. The members of Bar Council of India are elected from each state bar council for a period of five years. Apart from them, the Bar Council of India also includes two ex-Officio members - Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India. The chairman of the council is elected by the members for a period of two years.

Functions of Bar Council of India

The Constitution of India mandates the BCI (Bar Council of India) to perform a number of functions relating to the legal profession and legal education in India. The constitutionally mandated functions of the Bar Council are listed below.

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

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

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

4. To promote and support law reform.

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

6. 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.

7. 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.

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

9. To organise legal aid to the poor.

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

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

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

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Bar Council of India - Enrollment of advocates

Advocates are required to register with the Bar Council of India before starting practising law in India. Enrollment of advocates with Bar Council of India is subject to the following eligibility criteria.

Eligibility for Enrollment of Advocates to the BCI

• The candidate must be an LLB graduate from a university recognized by Bar Council of India
• The candidate must be registered with any of the state bar councils in India
• The candidate must have passed All India Bar Examination (AIBE) conducted by BCI

To register as an advocate in a state bar council, law graduates are required to fill out and submit the advocate enrollment application form and identity card form of the concerned bar council. However, the state bar council issues only a provision enrollment certificate and provisional identity card. To get the permanent certificate of Practice and permanent advocate ID card, one must complete All India Bar Examination conducted by the Bar Council of India itself.

How long does the provisional enrollment remain valid?

The provisional enrollment expires after three years from the date of enrollment. So, within this duration, the law graduate must clear the AIBE exam. In some exceptional cases when it is not possible to conduct AIBE, the Bar Council may extend the two-year period and consider state bar council registration as valid. A notification to make such a decision effective is released beforehand.

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Role of Bar Council of India in Legal Education

• Being a regulatory body, the Bar Council of India has an important role in shaping legal education in India. It regulates the LLB, LLM other law programmes in India.
• Bar Council of India (BCI) inspects the law universities/colleges in India and lays down standards of education in consulting with universities and state bar councils.
• The council also regulates the fees for various law courses in India.

Inspection of Colleges by BCI

The Inspection Committee of BCI thoroughly inspects the institution on various parameters to provide approval . The parameters include character of the institution, its properties, faculty, institutional head, library, moot court, legal aid clinic, computer lab, examination system and other facilities. It also holds meetings with students and faculty members to prepare its final report.

BCI Inspection Details

Difference Between State Bar Council and Bar Council of India

The Bar Council of India is the apex body for regulation of advocates in India. It is tasked with regulatory and supervisory duties and granting approval to law colleges. The state bar councils, as the name suggests have the states as their area of jurisdiction. Their main role is to supervise the legal professionals operating within the state. Advocates are required to register with the bar council of the respective state in which they want to practise law.

All India Bar Examination (AIBE) 19

The Bar Council of India is expected to open the AIBE 19 application form 2024 in online mode soon. Candidates would be able to submit the AIBE 19 application form 2024 from the official website - allindiabarexamination.com. Candidates who clear the exam would be awarded with a Certificate of Practice (CoP) to practice law in courts.

Bar Council of India conducts All India Bar Examination. Law graduates, after completing their enrollment in the state bar council, must appear in the bar council exam. The objective of conducting AIBE is to ensure that law graduates coming from universities are capable of practising law in India. Through AIBE, the Bar Council of India sets the minimum benchmark for practising law in India. AIBE is a closed-book examination, however, Bare Acts without notes are allowed in the examination. The exam is conducted in 11 different languages. The test examines the analytical ability and basic legal knowledge of law graduates.

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