The plan, based on British practice, will affect about 10 lakh lawyers enrolled with bar councils, including those who practice in the Supreme Court and high courts.
If the government has its way, soon there would be no school-leaving age for lawyers. Instead, they will need to attend refresher courses periodically and take examinations to renew their licence.
The plan, based on British practice, will affect about 10 lakh lawyers enrolled with bar councils, including those who practice in the Supreme Court and high courts. As of now, only judges go through periodic training programmes in judicial academies.
“One expects even experienced and established legal luminaries, judges and other law professionals to submit to periodic and continuing legal education programmes without standing on pomp or seniority,” said prime minister Manmohan Singh at the National Consultation for Second Generation Reforms in Legal Education in New Delhi. “After all, this is commonplace in the advanced countries of the world.”
“Every five years lawyers would need to go through an assessment to renew their licence,” said VB Coutinho, director (legal studies), directorate of legal education, Bar Council of India (BCI).
“We have almost finalised the matter after discussions with the BCI. Lawyers should be periodically sent for training as it helps them stay abreast of the changing trends and requirements of the legal system. This will be made compulsory shortly,” said law and justice minister M Veerappa Moily, who also hinted at a “minimum certification criteria”.
The move, similar to a plan mooted by the Medical Council of India to re-evaluate and reregister doctors every five years, is based on a pilot project conducted by the Indian Institute of Legal and Professional Development (IILPD).
“New age advocacy has to focus on mediation and arbitration. Regular training is the need of the hour for lawyers, who, once they start practice, never bother to go for refresher courses,” said Priya Hingorani, senior Supreme Court advocate and director, IILPD. “During mid-term training, lawyers need to be brought up to date with aspects of case analysis, drafting, ethics, and new acts and laws. They also need to be trained to upgrade their negotiation skills.”
Meanwhile, the BCI has decided to make it compulsory for law graduates to clear an examination to get their license. This is based on a Supreme Court order mandating the Centre and the BCI to conduct bar examinations to test candidates on their suitability for entry into the legal profession. The exam is expected to ensure standards.
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