Sunday, June 13, 2010

'No incident of corruption should be tolerated' - A WARNING by Hon'ble The Chief Justice M.Y. Eqbal, Madras High Court.

Justice M.Y. Eqbal was on Friday sworn in Chief Justice of the Madras High Court. At a brief ceremony at Raj Bhavan, Governor Surjit Singh Barnala administered the oath of office.

Justice P. Sadasivam, Supreme Court Judge, Judges of the Madras High Court, Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Deputy Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, State Ministers, office-bearers of various advocates' associations, family members of the new Chief Justice, including Mrs. I. Eqbal, and four Judges of the Jharkhand High Court — Justices Amerswar Sahay, Patel, Tiwari and Marathia — were among those present.

Earlier, Chief Secretary K.S. Sripathi read out the warrant of appointment of the new Chief Justice.

Mr. Justice Eqbal succeeds Justice H.L. Gokhale, who has been elevated as a Judge of the Supreme Court.

With the swearing-in of Mr. Justice Eqbal, the strength of the High Court has gone up to 52 against the sanctioned strength of 60.

Later, at a function at the High Court where he was accorded a formal welcome by the Bench and the Bar, Mr. Justice Eqbal said: “When people come to courts, they have gleaming hopes in their eyes that justice will be meted out to them in all cases. Therefore, judges and advocates should make all possible attempts to perform their pious obligation of delivering justice. They owe not just a legal responsibility but also a moral and ethical responsibility to ensure that no corrupt hands shall pollute the pure fountain of justice.”

Spelling out a few core areas of priorities for the Bench and the Bar, he said, “First, to be incorruptible and maintain the moral integrity of the institution.”

He made it clear that no incident of corruption should be tolerated and anyone prone to corruption will have no place in the system. The next area was to ensure access to justice for the weaker sections by giving equal opportunities to everyone to perform.

Development of justice delivery system by introducing alternative dispute resolution methods and their widespread use would make a great difference in the system of justice. The Bench and the Bar should do what was right for the legal system in the long term, not what was popular and politically expedient. He said, “Understand the aspirations of the people in the judiciary and paint a vision of the future they can share.”

Advocate-General P.S. Raman delivered the welcome address.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

All India Bar Examination to practice law, 2009-2010 -Details

The first All India Bar Examination, to be conducted on December 5, 2010 is intended to test an advocate’s ability to practice the profession of law in India. As this is the first time that this examination will be conducted, it will assess capabilities at a basic level, and is intended to set a minimum standard for admission to the practice of law; it addresses a candidate’s analytical abilities and basic knowledge of law.

Click here to see the presentation on the All India Bar Examination.

http://staging.barcouncilofindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/AIBE-Presentation.pdf

Please write to barexam@barcouncilofindia.org if you have any questions.

Law graduates, from 2009-2010 onwards, must take all-India Bar exam to practice as a lawyer.

Fresh law graduates must take all-India Bar exam

Law graduates passing out from this year and intending to take up legal practice will have to pass an all-India Bar examination to be conducted by the Bar Council of India on December 5.

Every graduate after enrolment as lawyer in the respective State Bar Council will have to clear this examination, which will test skills and basic knowledge critical for a new entrant to the profession.

Eligibility check'

It is intended to check for eligibility, rather than expertise,? BCI Chairman and Solicitor-General Gopal Subramaniam said here on Wednesday, after launching the BCI's Vision Statement 2010-2012, which addresses the challenges before the legal profession and creating solutions.

The examination would be held once in six months and anyone failing in the first test could re-appear.

A legal consultancy firm, Rainmaker, will assist the BCI in conducting and managing the test in nine languages and in preparing the material for the test, for which it would collect Rs. 1,300 from each candidate.?

Mr. Subramaniam said: ?The Indian legal profession consists of approximately 11 lakh registered advocates, around 1,000 law schools and approximately 5 lakh law students. Every year, approximately 60,000 law graduates join the legal profession.?

Asked whether the BCI had taken permission from the Human Resource Development Ministry for conducting the test, Mr. Subramaniam said the council, as a statutory body, was not dependent on its approval.

On entry of foreign lawyers, Mr. Subramaniam said the BCI was opposed to it. Unlike in other countries, in India there was a standard of practice maintained by lawyers and they were not governed by earning money alone. ?The stage of allowing foreign lawyers has not yet come.? The BCI was open to a debate on this issue.

Bill on legal education

Talking to journalists, Law Minister Veerappa Moily said the Bill proposed by the HRD Ministry, touching on certain aspects of legal education, would be taken up at an inter-ministerial meeting and differences sorted out.

He said the legal profession was governed by the Advocates Act and no Bill would be possible without amending the Act.

BCI Vice-Chairman R. Dhanapal Raj and members of various State Bar Councils were present at the launch of the Vision Statement.

The Bar Council of India Chairman's Vision Statement 2010-2012

BCI Chairman's Vision Statement 2010-2012

“Ensuring equality before the law and the supremacy of the rule of law in the Indian democracy.”

I am proud to present to you and to connect you to the legal profession in India. In the largest democracy in the world, the role of the legal profession cannot be underestimated as it is the law and the delivery of justice that serve as the conscience of a nation and the foundation of the society that India is, and will become, in the years to come.

In spite of the wear and tear and the erosion suffered during the passage of time, the legal fraternity in India continues to be an influential seat of society and the legal profession carries with it the identity of a noble and learned profession, which has produced great leaders for India (including during our freedom struggle). However, our profession finds itself at the crossroads today and it is the path that we choose that will surely influence the future of India as a true democracy.


On the one hand we face a prosperous future as a country with a growing economy and the aspirations of a billion Indians unleashed upon the world. On the other we see massive inequities, shortfalls in education/health/infrastructure, delivery of justice and various other ills moving at a similar pace. In such a scenario, the need for a stronger, more robust and ethically driven legal profession in India cannot be overemphasised.

The Indian legal profession today consists of approximately 11 lakh (1.1 million) registered advocates, around 1,000 law schools and approximately 5 lakh (0.5 million) law students across the country. Every year, approximately 60,000 law graduates join the legal profession in India. These broad estimates also contain within them a rapidly growing (and international quality) corporate legal sector and a nascent outsourced legal process services sector. One need only understand the size of the Indian legal profession to appreciate the important and immense nature of the task at hand.

In order for us to strengthen every single member and area of the profession, it is necessary for us to realistically introspect to identify the various challenges that we collectively face today. The issues that plague the profession today are not unique or specific to only one part but are systemic issues that need to be dealt with keeping in mind the connect between the different parts of the profession.

These issues broadly are:

Inadequate quality of legal education and infrastructure
Lack of relevant skills training to meet with the ever-changing demands of the modern world
Lack of clear data on the profession for assessment and efficient distribution of resources
Low absorption of technology and lack of connect with different parts of a modern economy
Lack of entry point and continuous assessment mechanisms to ensure the continuous growth and improvement of the legal profession
Lack of awareness and ideation about the heritage, tradition, and culture of the legal profession, and levels of excellence within the legal profession, and a consequent lack of motivation to fulfil the highest aspirations within the profession
Lack of the ability to ensure access to basic human rights to the poor and marginalised sections of society, and the realisation of the vision of the Indian lawyer as an effective social engineer
While each of the above problems can be seen in isolation, it is their cumulative effect that has a negative bearing on the identity of the entire Indian legal profession. Irrespective of the success any part of the profession may achieve, it will always carry along with it the positives and negatives of our collective identity and hence every part of the profession is a stakeholder in this identity.

It is in this light that the Bar Council of India is seeking to connect, create and implement large-scale solutions to strengthen the Indian lawyer and the Indian legal profession by March 31, 2012.

These solutions will be aimed at all aspects of the profession, but the highest priority would be on the following areas:

Raising the quality of the bar through entry-level assessment and continuous education and training
Providing access to knowledge and information resources (embracing a multi-disciplinary approach) to all parts of the legal profession
Creating a database of lawyers, law schools, academia and law students across the country so that resources can be efficiently deployed and common platforms can be created
Creating clear quality standards for legal education and a common entry level standard for entering law schools across the country
Creating a system of access to hardware and software resources, as well as training on the use of technology across the profession
Establishing a strong system of connect between the legal profession and the weakest sections of society, so as to provide effective legal aid, and the fulfilment of the profession’s role as an agent of social justice and equity
Improving interaction between the bar and the judiciary so as to establish a common platform to collectively address problems facing justice delivery in India
Identifying clear values and standards so that the legal profession is fearlessly independent and of robust character
Through a combination of the above, raising the confidence and skills of the constituents of the legal profession, thereby improving the identity of the profession as a whole
As a statutory body having access to the entire legal profession (including the senior leadership of law officers in India) the Bar Council of India will reach out to all parts of the legal profession and create long-term solutions in each of these areas. The Bar Council of India also undertakes to conduct itself in a transparent and approachable manner so as to reflect the thoughts and aspirations of the Indian legal profession.

We look forward to the support of the entire legal profession in our collective endeavour to create a modern legal profession that does justice to its heritage, aspirations, obligations and competence.

Gopal Subramanium, Bar Council of India

Chairman