Advocates must renew their licence to practice every five years after paying Rs 600 as renewal fees, according to a resolution passed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) on 1 June.
BCI chairman Manan Kumar Mishra said that the measure was aimed at advocates getting “engaged in private services”, reported the Times of India.
Mishra said that the state bar councils were facing a difficulty in implementing welfare schemes for practicing lawyers after a large number of lawyers undertook private services and businesses having obtained sanads (practice licences) from the councils.
The resolution from the meeting of 1 June was not available at the time of going to press.
Last month, targeting fake law degree holders who enrol themselves in various state bar councils, the BCI published a circular on it’s website making it compulsory for all law students, teachers and law schools to register themselves on a new online database, after payment of a registration fee.
In April this year, BCI announced its plan to roll out a Unique Identification Number (UIN) system for all lawyers and law students studying at recognised law schools in India, by September this year.
A unique ID number project was first proposed by former BCI chairman Gopal Subramanium in 2011.
Comments
Also, where are the minutes? I see that BCI has the time to put up minutes for their other meetings, but where are the meetings from the legal education committee meetings? Why still no updates?
There is a requirement for minimum ongoing training each year. Practice certificate is re-issued each year but unlike the dead stupid rule in India which seems to blindly recognises only a self-employed black coat wearing LLB degree holder as an advocate (and funnily the profit partners of law firms!), SRA is a body created to specially regulate the solicitors, wherever they may be employed. There is a different body for barristers. Wonder what will finally push the Indian lawyering profession to replicate this time tested mechanism in India and get over this issue and the added complication of non-regulation/recognition of law firms!
Before my self -employed balck coat wearing friends jump in, a humble request, please leave us alone and keep your regulations and your court chambers to yourselves. Let us regulate ourselves so that we too can create welfare schemes for lawyers employed by law firms, companies and government.