Bar & Bench June 16, 2016 Columns, Law & Policy Columns, Law School Columns, Premium

No Lawyer Left Behind

Misha Talwar & Sachin Sukumar

Amidst the recent controversy surrounding the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) and with the Bar Council of India (BCI) constantly locking horns with the Supreme Court of India, there is a pressing need to redefine the entire existing system.

The AIBE Rules lay down a prohibition on law graduates who have graduated post 2010 to practice law, even after . . .

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Julius ceasar on June 23, 2016 at 3:57 pm
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When Bar Council of India has formulated the curriculum for the 3 year and 5 year law programs, and BCI provides recognition to the law colleges and Universities conduct LLB programs and examine the students semester wise, why do you need a Bar Exam! If at all there is a need to revamp the legal education and sharpen the skills of budding lawyers who graduate from law colleges, BCI and Universities have to ensure that law colleges are imparting the legal education effectively. There are many colleges where student attendance is compromised. Those who work as full time employees in organizations pursue law without even attending colleges. There are colleges which do not have proper infrastructure like class rooms, library. There are colleges where co-curricular activities like moot courts, client counseling, drafting etc. are copy-paste jobs and being internally assessed students do not have to struggle much especially in dubious colleges which indulge in above listed activities. If BCI and Universities take their responsibility of monitoring law colleges seriously then legal education will improve automatically. You will not need a Bar Exam to test the skills of a law graduate. Also, practicing lawyers should ensure that they mention their enrollment numbers in their Vakalats and the Registries in Courts should invariably verify this number from Bar Council websites. State Bar Councils should update this information to enable such verification. If these simple steps are taken up there will be no need for AIBE. Supreme Court and CJI should ensure that this is done rather than go ahead with the dubious AIBE. BCI also should not bother if a lawyer who has enrolled actually practices or not. They should only bother if the lawyer who files vakalat is a genuine lawyer or not. That can be done by verifying the enrollment number as suggested above. Further, if lawyers who enroll do not practice, it should be left to them. Why terminate their COPs? If BCI cannot clean up legal education, if BCI cannot request Court Registries to monitor Vakalats filed then they have no business in declaring who is a practicing advocate and non-practicing advocate. BCI deserves to be wound up and we can have a better regulatory body in place which is in tune with the times.
2

hamid on July 1, 2016 at 8:54 am
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Most of the law colleges are still not very careful in getting the exams of llb conducted in clean matter.

Further growing law and order problems by the lawyers in representing is also an issue which should be dealt by the bci.the attack on kanhayya or on any other in the court premises shows that the judgment passed in the court are not fare.

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