The Bar Council of India (BCI) has today released its vision statement for the next two years covering 2010-2012. The ceremony, which was convened by Law Minister Veerappa Moily,was also attended by Gopal Subramanium, Solicitor General of India and Chairman, Bar Council of India; Dhanpal Raj, Vice President of BCI; Prof. V.B.Coutinho, Directorate of Legal Services and Nikhil Chandra, CEO Rainmaker. The Law Minister also inaugurated the new design of the website of the BCI. BCI governs more than 1.1 million advocates and approximately 1,000 law schools with more than 60,000 students graduating each year and it was time for an overhaul of the website that will provide comprehensive information.
The ceremony took place at the Imperial Hotel in New Delhi where according to Gopal Subramaniam, the Declaration of Independence was signed. The Solicitor General talking about the vision statement said “Some important issues include raising the quality of Bar, with education and training, access to knowledge and having a database of all lawyers, law schools and law students all at a common platform are urgent requirements and we will address them”.
Speaking about The All India Bar Exam (Bar exam) he said, “The exam will help in identifying value and standard that will improve the identity of the legal profession as a whole”.
Nikhil Chandra, said that the Bar exam will be scheduled across India on December 5, 2010. The Bar exam will be a benchmark test to ensure a basic level of skill and knowledge in those joining the legal profession and intending to practice law in India. The exam is not retrospective and shall be mandatory for all law students graduating from the academic year 2009-2010 onwards. Nikhil Chandra also presented a brief overview about the bar exam, a presentation is available here. The BCI and Rainmaker will provide the preparatory material for the Bar exam. “The Bar exam will meet highest standards of transparency, security and fairness” he said.
Veerappa Moily, Law Minister said “Great changes in the legal education will not happen unless there is a change in the legal profession”. “There is wealth, prosperity and progress in the legal profession. The market is not only India, it is the whole world at large, as an advocate and an individual” he said. Laying out his vision for the country he said “We have to set up one National Law School in each State”.
Various questions relating to the Bar exam, health insurance and foreign law firms were raised, to which Gopal Subramaniam answered in detail clearing the doubts in the minds of students and lawyers. “A Student quizzed on what would happen if he fails the Bar exam and when can he repeat the exam?” The Chairman answering these questions said the Bar exam will be held twice a year and there are no limit in the number of attempts by a law graduate.
The BCI has partnered with Rainmaker to manage and conduct the exam.The exam fee will be Rs.1,300 ($28). The revenues generated from the Bar exam will be divided equally between the BCI, State Bar Councils and Rainmaker. Gopal Subramanium also said that the BCI had evaluated several agencies and zeroed in on Rainmaker as they had the ability to adhere to timelines with respect to the academic material, the ability to translate into nine languages and take the test to centers across India.
The Chairman was also asked about the entry of foreign law firms to which he said “The present stand is to oppose the entry of foreign lawyers in India as the standard of practice of law in our country is not consistent. In foreign countries law is a profession while in India it is still a service and the role of the BCI is to protect the professional identity of the Indian lawyer”.
There will be no ranks and the result will be based on Pass/Fail. The application form period will be starts from July 15, 2010. Model papers will be available from August 16, 2010 on the BCI website.
A copy of the Bar Council’s vision statement 2010-2012 is available here.
