LOK SABHA
The Bar Council of
India has been empowered under the Advocates Act, 1961 to frame
rules for discharging its functions under the Act, which can be
amended by the said Council only. The Bar Council of India has
informed that it has not made any rules regarding the entry of
foreign lawyers in the country and the Council has been strongly
opposing the entry of foreign lawyers. Nevertheless, under the
existing provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961, a foreign national
is entitled to be enrolled as an advocate in India only if citizens
of India are permitted to practise law in his country and that
if any citizen of India is prevented from practising the professional
of law in any country or is subjected to unfair discrimination
in that country, no subject of such a country is entitled to practise
the profession of law in India. Thus, foreign nationals are permitted
to practise law in India on reciprocal basis only. However, the
Act does not provide for practice of the profession of law in
India by any foreign national who is not enrolled as an advocate
under the Act.
The Law Commission
of India is undertaken study of the Advocates Act, 1961 and has
circulated a Working Paper on its review to various institutions,
including the Bar Council of India, for comments. The law Commission
has yet not finalized its report.
This information
was given by the Minister of State for Coal, Mines , Law and Justice,
Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad in a written reply to a question from
Shri Vilas Muttemwar in the Lok Sabha today.
