The Delhi High Court has amended its rules for designation of lawyers as Senior Advocates..The Court has said that canvassing by a nominee would disqualify him for being designated as a Senior Advocate..As per the new rules, all matters related to designation of Senior Advocates shall be dealt with by a Permanent Committee, to be known as the "Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates". The Committee shall consist of the following members:.Chief Justice - Chairperson of the Permanent CommitteeTwo senior-most judges of the High Court - MembersAdditional Solicitor General (High Court of Delhi) - MemberA member to be nominated by the Administrative Committee of the High Court out of the names of three Senior Advocates given by the Government of NCT of DelhiA member of the bar nominated by the above.The Permanent Committee shall meet at least once every calendar year, the High Court has said. It shall have a Secretariat, the composition of which will be decided by the Chief Justice in consultation with the members of the Committee.The Secretariat is tasked with collecting data on reputation, conduct and integrity of the applicant; participation in pro-bono work; number of judgments in which the advocate concerned appeared..Eligibility conditions.No person shall be eligible for being designated as Senior Advocate unless he/she:Has practiced as an Advocate at the Bar for not less than 10 years;Is enrolled with the Bar Council constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961;Has been mainly practicing in the High Court and the courts subordinate to it;Has appeared and argued cases or provided legal services pro-bono; andHas attained the age of 40 years, unless the age limit is relaxed by the Permanent Committee..Applicants having domain expertise of practicing before specialized tribunals may be given concession with regard to the extent of appearance in the High Court. Further,“The eligibility condition with regard to minimum standing as a practicing Advocate shall not apply to retired Judicial Officers of Delhi or those who have resigned having service and/or practice of 10 years at their credit.”.The breakup of points for designation is as follows:Number of years of practice of the advocate from the date of enrolment. (10 points for 10 years of practice and 1 point each for every additional year of practice, subject to a maximum of 20 points) - 20 pointsJudgments which indicate the legal formulations advanced by the concerned advocate; pro bono work done by the concerned advocate; domain expertise in specialized areas of law. It shall also include best five synopses for evaluation - 50 pointsPublication of books/journals, academic articles, experience of teaching assignments in the field of law, guest lectures delivered in law schools and professional institutions connected with law - 5 pointsThe test of personality and suitability on the basis of interview for a holistic assessment of the applicant - 25 points.On the issue of recall of Senior Advocate designation, the Court said that if a Senior Advocate is guilty of conduct which, according to the Full Court, disentitles him/her to continue to be worthy of the designation, "the Full Court may review its decision to designate the concerned person and recall the same. The Full Court would give an opportunity of hearing before any such action is taken"..[Read procedure for designation of Senior Advocates here]
The Delhi High Court has amended its rules for designation of lawyers as Senior Advocates..The Court has said that canvassing by a nominee would disqualify him for being designated as a Senior Advocate..As per the new rules, all matters related to designation of Senior Advocates shall be dealt with by a Permanent Committee, to be known as the "Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates". The Committee shall consist of the following members:.Chief Justice - Chairperson of the Permanent CommitteeTwo senior-most judges of the High Court - MembersAdditional Solicitor General (High Court of Delhi) - MemberA member to be nominated by the Administrative Committee of the High Court out of the names of three Senior Advocates given by the Government of NCT of DelhiA member of the bar nominated by the above.The Permanent Committee shall meet at least once every calendar year, the High Court has said. It shall have a Secretariat, the composition of which will be decided by the Chief Justice in consultation with the members of the Committee.The Secretariat is tasked with collecting data on reputation, conduct and integrity of the applicant; participation in pro-bono work; number of judgments in which the advocate concerned appeared..Eligibility conditions.No person shall be eligible for being designated as Senior Advocate unless he/she:Has practiced as an Advocate at the Bar for not less than 10 years;Is enrolled with the Bar Council constituted under the Advocates Act, 1961;Has been mainly practicing in the High Court and the courts subordinate to it;Has appeared and argued cases or provided legal services pro-bono; andHas attained the age of 40 years, unless the age limit is relaxed by the Permanent Committee..Applicants having domain expertise of practicing before specialized tribunals may be given concession with regard to the extent of appearance in the High Court. Further,“The eligibility condition with regard to minimum standing as a practicing Advocate shall not apply to retired Judicial Officers of Delhi or those who have resigned having service and/or practice of 10 years at their credit.”.The breakup of points for designation is as follows:Number of years of practice of the advocate from the date of enrolment. (10 points for 10 years of practice and 1 point each for every additional year of practice, subject to a maximum of 20 points) - 20 pointsJudgments which indicate the legal formulations advanced by the concerned advocate; pro bono work done by the concerned advocate; domain expertise in specialized areas of law. It shall also include best five synopses for evaluation - 50 pointsPublication of books/journals, academic articles, experience of teaching assignments in the field of law, guest lectures delivered in law schools and professional institutions connected with law - 5 pointsThe test of personality and suitability on the basis of interview for a holistic assessment of the applicant - 25 points.On the issue of recall of Senior Advocate designation, the Court said that if a Senior Advocate is guilty of conduct which, according to the Full Court, disentitles him/her to continue to be worthy of the designation, "the Full Court may review its decision to designate the concerned person and recall the same. The Full Court would give an opportunity of hearing before any such action is taken"..[Read procedure for designation of Senior Advocates here]
