CHAIRMAN'S PAGE
I am proud to present to you and to connect you to the legal profession and legal education in India through the corridor of the Bar Council of India. As the largest democracy in the world with 1100 million people, India is passionately committed to democracy and wedded to the concept of rule of law, the foundation of modern civilised society.
India, known historically as “ Bharat”, derives its name from the Indus civilisation, sprouted and developed on the banks of river Indus, the river more shrouded in mythology than in history. Bharat, the land of ancient vedic culture, had its own “neeti sastra“ i.e. jurisprudence, that was founded essentially on ‘ Dharma’ i.e. truth, fairness and tolerance.
During the passage of time, many cultures and faiths visited this ancient land either as invaders or travellers or traders. They found in this green plateau a very friendly, cultured and receptive people, who gave the visitors shelter, protection and respect. Gradually, some of these visitors turned as conquerors , some other colonialists and yet others traders.
Thus came Britishers under the banner of East India Company. A trading company that gradually assumed military and political power, acquired vast territories and built their own empire, the extension of the British empire. They introduced English language and common law to India, two significant contributions of modern civilization.
The present Indian legal system has still its umbilical chord unsevered from the common law and is largely reproduction of the common law principles, as modified to suit the Indian condition, by judicial interpretation and legislative directions over the period of years.
Therefore, India became fascinated by the rule of law and the common law that she had imbibed to an extent as her colonial heritage. The Indian legal system has also taken shape almost on British model, except certain constitutional principles, which we have adopted from other countries.
The modern Indian legal profession is the creation of the Advocates Act, 1961. It is conceptualised as a service oriented profession and not as a profit oriented trade. The Indian Bar consists of about 10 lakh and 20 thousand lawyers. In addition, there are about 740 law colleges and 11 national law universities under the control of the statutory body representing the profession, the Bar Council of India. The structure of the Indian legal profession is essentially centred around a senior advocate and his junior advocates or colleagues. There are only few law firms in existence in the major Metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata and Chennai.
The profession is guided by a code of conduct and ethics framed as part of the rules
of the Bar Council of India. The Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils which are created under the Advocates Act, are mainly entrusted with the induction of the new entrance into the profession, taking care of the conduct and discipline of advocates, safeguarding the privilege and welfare of advocates and finally maintaining and improving the standard of legal education in the country.
As in the case of other democratic countries like England, America etc., in India also the leaders of the national freedom struggle were the products of the legal profession. The independence movement of India was vanguarded by the legal profession and spearheaded by leading lawyers of the country. A large number of Parliamentarians in India in the post independent period were members of the legal profession. Even now, when compared to any other profession, Indian lawyers stand in the front by representation in the Indian Parliament and legislatures.
In spite of the wear and tear and the erosion of values suffered during the passage of time, the legal fraternity in India remains to be the most influential seat of the society and the legal profession continues to be a noble and learned profession among all public professions, about which every lawyer in this country is proud of . We are sure under the leadership of the Bar Council of India and the State Bar Councils this hegemony and heritage could be retained and cemented.
To conclude, Bar Council of India ( the BCI) is the one and only body representing the Indian Bar, having its statutory basis and the backing of democratic statutory elections from the primary level onwards for its constitution. While asserting this statutory authority and leadership the Bar Council of India is not overlooking or forgetting the other line of leadership in the Bar consisting of the Attorney General of India, the Chief Law officer of the Government of India the Solicitor General of India , both being Honorary Members of the Bar council of India and that of the accredited seniors in the Indian Bar, many of whom are internationally accepted legal and juristic brains.
While winding up, I assure you that the official site of the Indian Bar will be updated as and when required with all latest information with regard to the strength of the Indian Bar, the rules on disciplinary matters and legal education, the names of the law colleges and Universities approved by the Bar Council of India as well as those of the foreign law universities and other relevant information.
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