Report No. 266

Chapter -XVII

Need of Reviewing Regulatory Mechanism

17.1 There is a dire necessity of reviewing the regulatory mechanism of the Advocates Act, not only in matters of discipline and misconduct of the advocates, but in other areas as well, keeping in view the wide expanse of the legal profession being involved in almost all areas of life. The very constitution of the Bar Councils and their functions also require the introduction of a few provisions in order to consolidate the function of the bar councils in its internal matters as well. The globalization of the legal profession has brought forth the issues of the participation of foreign lawyers and foreign law firms in Indian legal system.

17.2 With the Bar Council of India creating the All India Bar Examination Rules, 2010; the Certificate of Practice and Renewal Rules, 2014 (which now stands repealed), and the Certificate and Place of Practice (Verification) Rules, 2015, it has become evident that this basic function has not been performed adequately. While it is understandable that lawyers in India constitute an improperly organised group, the inability of the Bar Councils to even keep a count on the number of advocates practicing in the country is indicative of the need to expand the institutional capacity of these authorities.