From this academic year onwards, law graduates will need to pass an all-India examination conducted by the Bar Council of India (BCI) to practice law in the country. The examination will be conducted in December this year for the students passing out in 2009-10.
The examination has been proposed to establish a country wide minimum level of professional qualification for lawyers. The examination will be qualifying in nature with multiple choice questions. The BCI has stated that the goal of the exam was to test the analytical ability of candidates and not to create another competition. India has 1.1 million enrolled advocates and 1,000 law schools which churn out 60,000 law graduates annually. The first such test, with 100 multiple choice questions for law graduates who want to enrol as lawyers, will be conducted on December 5 this year.
“The All-India Bar Council Examination will serve as a benchmark test to ensure a basic level of skill and knowledge among those joining the legal profession,” solicitor general and BCI chairman Gopal Subramanium said.
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BCI: No foreign firms
AGE CORRESPONDENT
new delhi
June 2: While Union law and justice minister M. Veerappa Moily on Wednesday urged the Bar Council of India to discuss the contentious issue of entry of foreign lawyers and law firms in the country, the Bar Council of India has rejected the proposal outrightly.
The Bar Council of India stuck to its earlier stand of not allowing foreign lawyers to practice in the country.
Speaking at a function to launch the website of the council, Dr Moily referred to the contentious issue of entry of foreign law firms in the country.
“While Indian lawyers claim they are afraid of foreign lawyers, legal reforms could ensure that the world is afraid of Indian lawyers,” the law minister stated.