BAR COUNCIL OF INDIA (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: Days before the rollout of the new criminal codes, protests by lawyer bodies have escalated to the Bar Council of India, prompting it to urge all bar associations nationwide to abstain from immediate protests.

Bar Council of India

• About: The Bar Council of India is a statutory body that regulates and represents the Indian bar. 
• Act: It was created by Parliament under the Advocates Act, 1961. 
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of Law and Justice ( Department of Legal Affairs).
• The All India Bar Committee under Justice S.R. Das in 1951 and the Law Commission of India in 1958 both recommended the establishment of All India Bar Councils and State Bar Councils.
• Structure Of the Bar Council of India:

oThe Bar Council of India consists of 18 Members. 

oThe Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India are Ex-officio Members of the council and the other 16 Members represent the 16 State Bar Councils in the country. 

oThe Members are elected for a period of five years and the Chairman and Vice -Chairman are elected for a period of two years from among the Members of the Bar Council of India. 

oThe Bar Council further consists of various committees viz., Legal Education Committee, Disciplinary Committee, Executive Committee, Legal Aid Committee, Advocates Welfare Fund Committee, Rules Committee and various other Committees formed to look into specific issues arising from time to time.

Function:

• To lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.
• To lay down procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committees of each State Bar Council.
• To safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates.
• To promote and support law reform.
• To deal with and dispose of any matter which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council.
• To promote legal education and to lay down standards of legal education. This is done in consultation with the Universities in India imparting legal education and the State Bar Councils.