The Bar Council of India (BCI) is considering a proposal to charge $2,000 each to Indian nationals with foreign law degrees who are looking to qualify in India.
The proposal was made in a meeting on 21 and 22 January by the BCI’s “equivalence committee”, which is responsible for administering the “Qualifying Examination for the Indian Nationals holding Foreign Law Degrees recognised by the Bar Council of India”.
The six-day, six-subject exam is scheduled to take place from 24 March, as reported by Legally India on Wednesday. In 2012, only three candidates took the exam, of whom only one passed.
Candidates looking to take the annual exam will have to pay the standard Rs 25,000 as an examination fee, but if the proposal is approved, they would have to deposit the US dollar amount, which is equivalent to Rs 1.2 lakh, into the BCI’s account before getting the result of the exam.
BCI chairman Manan Kumar Misra said that he would not be able to confirm the rationale behind the proposal without reading the resolution in detail. “It is only a recommendation,” he said. “The BCI is yet to decide.”
Mishra explained that the proposal had been made independently by the equivalence committee, which is headed by former Supreme Court Justice AP Misra with several other BCI members.
The notification of the exam on the BCI website stated:
The Equivalence Committee at its meeting held on 21st & 22nd January 2014 has proposed that foreign degree holders who wants to be enrolled in India has to pay USD 2000 to the Bar Council of India. The said amount to be deposited as Dollars. This decision will be placed before the council for its approval. After the Exam the decision of the Council will be communicated to you. At present the Rs 25,000/- (Rupees Twenty Five Thousand only) is payable to the Bar Council of India. the proposed fee of USD 2000 may be deposited by the candidate when Council approves. The results of the candidate will be declared after decision of the Council in regard to fee of USD 2000.
Comments
But a degree, nonetheless?
With respect to the question of qualification to practice in India, it is irrelevant. What's in question is the degree which enables you to practice, viz the bachelors degree. Most lawyers with just the bachelors degree are doing just fine.
But a degree, nonetheless?[/quote]
What would be of relevance would be the degree that entitles you to practice law. An LLM does not per se make you a lawyer qualified to practice in India. What they're referring to is your bachelor of laws degree from a foreign university or a JD. If you're an Indian national with an LLB from an Indian school and an LLM from a foreign university, you wouldn't fall under this bracket. But if you have a JD or a bachelor's degree in law from any foreign university, your LLM is of no relevance to the BCI. Hope this clarifies.
There doesn't seem to be any constitutional invalidity. It should pass the relevant intelligible differentia and classification tests. Foreign degree holders can be classified as a separate class and different "qualification" criteria for them shouldn't be a problem from an Article 14 or 15 perspective. Also doesn't seem to be afoul of Article 21 either. Were you contemplating another particular article of the constitution when you made your comment?
I would assume that the reasoning must be, if any, that it's really expensive to carry out a six day exam for only 3 or so people every year.
To be fair, the better solution would be to scrap this exam and just make all the Firang LLBs sit the AIBE instead?
Or scrap the AIBE and make everyone sit this exam, which seems pretty well thought out in terms of syllabus and the like.
Anyone know how hard it is? Surely not Bombay solicitors level but presumably a few notches above the AIBE...
From the Urban Dictionary:
"Firang-singular form or Firangs-plural form: Pronounced as Fee-RA-Ung/s:
A derogatory term used in India when referring to a Caucasian person in Hindi. Originally thought to have developed as a contemptible term for British officers and gentry by disgruntled Indians. Today used commonly to refer to any Westerner in casual conversations, akin to 'gaijin' in Japanese.
First Person: Hey, what’s all the commotion about?
Second Person: Aah, some firangs got into a fight.
First Person: Really!?
Second Person: Yeah, they tried to feel up someone’s girl!
First Person: *snicker* I guess they're used to having sluts over there!
Second Person: *laughs* Firangs!
Firang in Firang LLB was actually meant to be a compound noun / flippant shorthand rather than stand up to rigorous dissection.
But I think I remember speaking to some people on this and firang literally just means foreigner, albeit in a slightly slangy way. Plus, I'm yet to meet a foreigner offended by the term.
Gora would be racist and inaccurate when used as a catch all for foreigners, though I'd have no sympathy for a gora complaining about being called a gora...
What is the difference between the two?
The rational for differentiation comes from the wording of the Advocates Act which unfortunately contemplates an Indian citizen criterion for becoming advocates who are entitled to practice law.