The Bar Council of India has come out all guns blazing in its bid to protect the legal profession, and perhaps its own existence, in the face of the Law Commission of India’s proposed amendments to the Advocates Act..In an impassioned resolution released today, the BCI has left no stone unturned in criticising the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2017 as being “draconian, anti-lawyer and unconstitutional”..The Law Commission, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s directions in Mahipal Singh Rana v. State of UP, recently released its 266th Report on the Advocates Act. In the report, the body headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice BS Chauhan has recommended widespread changes to the functioning of the legal profession..In the proposed amendment Bill, the Law Commission had floated the idea of high court judges nominating members of state bar councils. Insisting that the autonomy of bar councils are being undermined, the BCI resolution states,.“The autonomy of Bar Councils is to be abolished. The majority of the members of the State Bar Counculs are to be nominees of the High Courts and the nominees also include the non-lawyers like Architects, Chartered Accountants, Doctors, Engineers or the Policitians. Similarly in Bar Council of India, there is no representation of the states.”.The resolution also states that the BCI had formed an Advisory Committee to make recommendations to “take care of the intent and the purport” of the Supreme Court’s directions in Mahipal Rana..The committee was headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Shivraj Patil and comprised three sitting Chief Justices of high courts, “several” sitting high court judges, as well as eleven Senior Advocates. However, the BCI laments, the recommendations of this Committee were not considered by the Law Commission..The Law Commission had also made changes to the disciplinary proceedings against advocates. In reaction to this, the BCI points out that disciplinary proceedings can be carried out by a five-member panel comprising no lawyers. Moreover, the fact that a judicial officer can go so far as to cancel the licence of an advocate on grounds of abstention or misconduct, the BCI says, will “undermine the independence of the Bar”..The BCI also calls into question the Law Commission’s definition of misconduct, which includes “criminal breach of trust”. The fact that all public grievance redressal committees and other bodies will be headed by judges, the BCI argues, will lead to a situation where lawyers cannot discharge their duties fearlessly..Moreover, the proposed changes calling for accountability of lawyers are worded vaguely, a point made by BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra in this video:.In reaction to the proposed amendments, the BCI has issued a rallying cry to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), state bar councils and various high court bar associations across the country to abstain work on March 31 in protest of the Bill that proposes to “shut the mouth of Indian advocates”. It has also called for a meeting of various lawyers’ associations on April 8.In the meanwhile, the BCI plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to convey the feelings of lawyers on the proposed amendments..After pressure from the Bar Association of Delhi and other organisations, the BCI last week wrote to the Law Commission, withdrawing its recommendations regarding amendments to the Advocates Act..Late last year, the BCI itself had recommended wholesale changes to the Act..Read the resolution:
The Bar Council of India has come out all guns blazing in its bid to protect the legal profession, and perhaps its own existence, in the face of the Law Commission of India’s proposed amendments to the Advocates Act..In an impassioned resolution released today, the BCI has left no stone unturned in criticising the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2017 as being “draconian, anti-lawyer and unconstitutional”..The Law Commission, pursuant to the Supreme Court’s directions in Mahipal Singh Rana v. State of UP, recently released its 266th Report on the Advocates Act. In the report, the body headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice BS Chauhan has recommended widespread changes to the functioning of the legal profession..In the proposed amendment Bill, the Law Commission had floated the idea of high court judges nominating members of state bar councils. Insisting that the autonomy of bar councils are being undermined, the BCI resolution states,.“The autonomy of Bar Councils is to be abolished. The majority of the members of the State Bar Counculs are to be nominees of the High Courts and the nominees also include the non-lawyers like Architects, Chartered Accountants, Doctors, Engineers or the Policitians. Similarly in Bar Council of India, there is no representation of the states.”.The resolution also states that the BCI had formed an Advisory Committee to make recommendations to “take care of the intent and the purport” of the Supreme Court’s directions in Mahipal Rana..The committee was headed by former Supreme Court judge Justice Shivraj Patil and comprised three sitting Chief Justices of high courts, “several” sitting high court judges, as well as eleven Senior Advocates. However, the BCI laments, the recommendations of this Committee were not considered by the Law Commission..The Law Commission had also made changes to the disciplinary proceedings against advocates. In reaction to this, the BCI points out that disciplinary proceedings can be carried out by a five-member panel comprising no lawyers. Moreover, the fact that a judicial officer can go so far as to cancel the licence of an advocate on grounds of abstention or misconduct, the BCI says, will “undermine the independence of the Bar”..The BCI also calls into question the Law Commission’s definition of misconduct, which includes “criminal breach of trust”. The fact that all public grievance redressal committees and other bodies will be headed by judges, the BCI argues, will lead to a situation where lawyers cannot discharge their duties fearlessly..Moreover, the proposed changes calling for accountability of lawyers are worded vaguely, a point made by BCI Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra in this video:.In reaction to the proposed amendments, the BCI has issued a rallying cry to the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), state bar councils and various high court bar associations across the country to abstain work on March 31 in protest of the Bill that proposes to “shut the mouth of Indian advocates”. It has also called for a meeting of various lawyers’ associations on April 8.In the meanwhile, the BCI plans to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to convey the feelings of lawyers on the proposed amendments..After pressure from the Bar Association of Delhi and other organisations, the BCI last week wrote to the Law Commission, withdrawing its recommendations regarding amendments to the Advocates Act..Late last year, the BCI itself had recommended wholesale changes to the Act..Read the resolution: