It is very unfortunate that the Bar Council of India decided to conduct the exam in March as compared to June like last year. I am a final year law student in a top UK university with final year exams in May which is the usual examination time period.

I would have taken the conversion exam in June, but now I will have to wait for one more year. This arbitrary decision hampers the scope for new foreign qualified lawyers to enter the Indian legal market.

Besides, the BCI is also deciding to impose a fee of USD 2000 to get enrolled as a lawyer which is a very exorbitant amount considering that the students already spend such huge sums on tuition fees and living expenses abroad.

I hope the BCI takes heed to the practicalities and stop acting arbitrarily.

What a scam! People studying in shit colleges in India with no knowledge have to give a simple exam like the AIBE, while people who have studied in top UK colleges and have had a far better education are given a hard time. Kian, please also explore the USD 2000 thing. A PIL should be filed. This is a massive scam.

Just found the notice - apparently the fee is still Rs 25,000 for the exam, but the "Equivalence Committee" on 21 and 22 January apparently decided that foreign degree holders wanting to be enrolled would have to deposit USD 2,000 with the BCI.

The decision is still to be placed before the council for approval, and after the exam the council will communicate to candidates whether they will have to pay USD 2000 on top of the Rs 25,000 fee.

I can understand that the exam is rather costly to conduct for the BCI - after all, only 3 people took it last year, and they're forced to make a syllabus, and 6 exam papers every year. That's a bit crazy and presumably a drain on resources.

Not sure whether charging USD 2000 is reasonable though.

We'll investigate and keep you posted...

This is very little notice to prepare for so many exams? Is it possible to sit some of the exams and then take the rest at the next sitting? Also is this exam only for "recognised universities". The list is quite random and if my university is not recognised what do I do? The BCI are not helpful at all and do not reply to emails or pick up their phone !

Yes it is indeed a shame ! I believe the process is asking the University to send their prospectus and other documents to the BCI as an application to get "recognised" but who knows when the BCI will sit again and on what basis they decide, and as you rightly pointed out the list was last updated in mid 2012. I believe that these conversion exams are a total waste of time. Im sure a Uk LLB is on par with an Indian LLB.