Bar Council of India Trust

The Bar Council of India Trust was created by the Bar Council of India on April 27, 1974 as a public charitable trust. The trust works towards maintaining professional standards in the legal profession and effecting improvements in legal education. Towards this end, the trust is mandated to establish law schools of excellence and to promote legal research.

The Board of Trustees of the Bar Council of India Trust comprises the Chairman of the Bar Council of India and four other trustees elected for a four-year term from amongst the BCI members. The trustees elect a Managing Trustee and an Assistant Managing Trustee. The Managing Trustee oversees the day-to-day administration of the Trust through its Secretary.

The Trust is also active in other fields such as providing legal aid to the disadvantaged; publication of textbooks for students and law reports; and activities promoting welfare of the members of the Indian legal profession. For instance, the Trust assists the professional development of numerous deserving junior advocates through its placement scheme. The Trust regularly selects advocates under the scheme for year-long training under experienced and reputed legal professionals at the High Courts and the Supreme Court such as senior advocates and Bar Council of India members.

National Law School of India University, Bangalore

The Bar Council of India Trust is also at the forefront in delivering world-class instruction in law, in India. The Trust established the first National Law University in Bangalore in 1987. The National Law School of India University (“NLSIU”) is now recognised the world over as a pre-eminent centre of legal studies and research. It was the inspiration for the establishment by various states of similar National Law Universities such as the NALSAR University, Hyderabad and the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences, Kolkata.

National Moot Court Competition

The National Moot Court Competition of the Bar Council of India is organised under the aegis of the Trust, and has been promoting advocacy skills amongst law students, since its inception in 1981. The eagerly awaited event is organised by the Trust in association with an Indian University and sees fierce competition between teams from 40 different universities.

In 2009, at the competition held in Gujarat, NALSAR, Hyderabad took home the top honours and ILS, Pune were runners up. Since 2005, ILS, Pune and NLSIU, Bangalore have won the trophy twice.

Indian Bar Review

The Indian Bar Review, the quarterly journal of the Bar Council of India Trust, is rated among the top legal periodicals in the country. Since 1972, the journal has informed and educated the judiciary, lawyers, students, and academics about the latest trends, developments, and scholarship in the field of law and legal education.

Continuing Legal Education

The BCI trust is invested heavily in updating the knowledge and skills of practicing advocates and to promote specialisation in professional services. Workshops are organised regularly in various parts of the country to help advocates develop their skills in a variety of topics like constitutional litigation, advocacy, labour adjudication, tort litigation, administrative law and adjudication and environmental laws. The Trust has also assembled high-quality reading materials on all these subjects.