All India Bar Examination – Facts, Reality and Law

Abstract

The Bar Council of India has proposed to go ahead with the All India Bar Examination(AIBE), despite opposition from a wide section of law students and lawyers. While the objective of All India Bar Examination to bring standardisation in the quality of legal professionals is laudable, there are a lot of issues surrounding the AIBE, including, the manner in which it is proposed to be conducted and the legal provisions enabling such a step. The AIBE also needs to factor the international standards, and the quality control it is expected to bring into the legal profession. This article examines the legal position regarding the All India Bar Examination proposed to be conducted by the Bar Council of India, in the light of the international practices and previous decisions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. The articles examines the bar examination procedure and practice in countries like USA, UK, Brazil, Hungary and France, where the bar examination is conducted as a stepping stone for entry into legal profession, and tries to compare the same with the current Indian experiment. It also points out the legal and practical lacunae in proposed bar examination and concludes with a set of suggestions, that would have made the examination legal and practical.

Keywords: Bar Council of India, BCI, All India Bar Examination, Legal Profession, Legal Education, Professional Standards

JEL Classification: K10, K19, K20, K29, K40, K49