BCI Press Conference BCI to continue fight over regulation of legal education AIBE must be cleared in 3 attempts UIN for lawyers

Newly elected Bar Council of India (BCI) Chairman Manan Kumar Mishra today held a Press Conference at the BCI office at New Delhi. The Chairman revealed the future plans of the BCI, which are listed below..Legal Education .The BCI aims to take urgent steps in the area of legal education. Some of the steps include creation of faculty resource pools and training of these faculty, creating and monitoring of clear quality standards across legal education, providing access to online databases and distance learning tools to law schools and law students across the country, and conducting seminars and workshops for law students..Welfare Fund.The BCI has asked the Government to make provisions allowing all lawyers to claim mediclaim, pension and insurance, have access to a welfare fund, , specially creating a stipend for young advocates for a period of 3 years ..All India Bar Examination (AIBE).The BCI shall soon make passing the AIBE a mandatory step before practicing. Furthermore, law student will be allowed a maximum of 3 attempts to clear the AIBE, which means the AIBE has to be cleared in one and a half years..The BCI is also considering the introduction of a common entrance test for admission in law schools. Soon, the BCI is going to constitute a Board to conduct the AIBE. The members of this Board will include Supreme Court Judges, High Court Judges, Vice Chancellors of National Law Schools and some eminent advocates of the country..Standard of Legal Profession.The BCI is also asking the Government to constitute a Lawyers Academy in every State and one at the Centre for the regular training of lawyers.Unique Identification Number (UIN) .The BCI is in the process of putting in place a UIN system for final year law students and lawyers across the country. This UIN will stay with the lawyers for their entire life and will help the BCI to provide various welfare schemes to all the lawyers through these UIN. The BCI will maintain the records of all the lawyers through this UIN system. The Chairman said that this will start in roughly 3-4 months..Also, addressing the Press Conference on the issue of regulation of legal education Mishra said, “The BCI and the State Bar Councils are completely opposed to the proposed Draft Higher Education and Research Development Bill, 2011 (the Bill), which entrusts the function of legal education to a handful of its nominees through a National Commission, instead of BCI”..Mishra added, “The Bill is now before the, Standing Committee and we are waiting to meet the Committee to express our views. The BCI has already met senior leaders of most of the political parties on this issue and they have given a positive response..However, if the Standing Committee clears the Bill without taking into interest the BCI’s stand, the legal fraternity would come on to the roads, organize protests and fasts and even gherao the Parliament, if required. The protests will be peaceful and democratic. But the lawyers are not ready to tolerate an attack on the Advocates Act or on the freedom of legal profession”.