Legal fraternity slams draft Bill to regulate practice

The government is planning a new accreditation and regulatory mechanism for legal services that has not been defined under the Advocates Act 1961. A move criticised by legal professionals as an attempt to facilitate the entry of foreign legal companies without the approval of the Bar Council of India.

The government has proposed the establishment of a legal services board to regulate and accredit professionals such as income tax practitioners, sales tax practitioners, patent attorney etc. Those who could come within the purview of the proposed board include practitioners in revenue courts, customs clearance agents, customs and immigration law practitioners, trademark and attorneys etc. Qualified lawyers who are not practicing advocates but providing legal services in their chambers will also be covered under the proposed Act.

The draft Bill on Legal Practitioners (Regulations and Maintenance of Standards in Professions, Protecting the Interest of Clients and Promoting the Rule of Law), will also empower the board to provide guiding principles for the regulatory functioning of Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils.

“The directions of the legal services board related to the regulatory objectives of this Act, shall be the guiding principles in so far as functioning, performance and professional principles to be followed by all legal professionals (are concerned),” the draft Bill says.

It also talks of formation of a Lok Pal like ombudsman for legal profession to look into complaints against legal practitioners. Legal professionals are, however, not enthusiastic about the new proposal.

“Faced with the opposition from the Bar Council and the Indian Bar alike, the foreign law firms have lobbied hard through their respective governments and international bodies to make the gates open.

As a result, the law ministry now seeks to find a way around the Advocates Act and the Bar Council of India even at the cost of having to create a parallel regulator called The Legal Services Board,” said Manoj Kumar, general secretary, Society of Indian Law Firms.

According to Kumar, the Bill would dilute and duplicate the scope and applicability of the Advocates Act taking away the oversight of the Bar Councils on practice of law in nine classes of legal profession.

It would be used by foreign law companies waiting on the fringes to start practicing law in India, he said.

Incidentally, the Bombay High Court had in one of its rulings brought all legal professionals under the ambit of ‘advocate’ and hence under the Advocates Act 1961, despite the absence of such definition in the Act.