The Bar Council of India (BCI) is a statutory body, constituted by Government of India under Advocates Act 1961. The main objective intended was to control and govern the working of all immediate subsidiary state-level bar councils besides laying down the standards of professional conduct and etiquette.
It comes under the purview of Ministry of Law and Justice, Government of India and it is a corporate body having perpetual succession and a common seal. The council has 18 members including the Attorney General of India and the Solicitor General of India. The Attorney General and the Solicitor General are the Ex-officio Members, while the other 16 Members of the council represent the 16 State Bar Councils in the country. The council is headed by a Chairman and Vice-Chairman, who are selected from among the council members for two-year tenure. The council members are elected for period of five years. The Bar Council of India has constituted several committees such as the Education Committee, the Disciplinary Committees, the Executive Committee, the Legal Aid Committee, the Advocates Welfare Fund Committee, the Rules Committee and various other Committees formed to look after the specific issues arising from time to time. The functions of the Bar council of India under section7 (1) of the Advocates Act 1961 are given below. · Lays down the standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates
· Lays down the procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council Safeguards the rights, privileges and interest of advocates
· Promotes and supports law reforms
· Deals and disposes any matter arising under Act, which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council
· Exercises general supervision and control over State Bar Councils
· Promotes the legal education and lays down the standards of such education in consultation with the Universities in India imparting such education and the State Bar Councils
· Recognizes the Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate. It inspects Universities and monitors the functioning with respect to the law degrees.
· Conducts seminars and organizes talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest
· Organizes the legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner
· Recognizes on a reciprocal basis foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for the purpose of admission as an advocate under this Act
· Manages and invests the funds of the Bar Council
· Provides for the election of its members
· Provides funds for setting up law libraries
· Performs all other functions conferred on it by the Act
· Constitutes special funds to assist the various welfare schemes being run for the indigent and disabled advocates
· Performs all actions which are necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions
State Bar Councils in India
· Bar Council of Andhra Pradesh,
High Court Building,
Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
· Bar Council of Assam, Nagaland,
Meghalaya, Manipur, Tripura,
Mizoram & Arunachal Pradesh
High Court Building,
Gauhati -781 001. Post Box No. 182
· Bar Council of Bihar,
High Court Campus,
Patna, Bihar
· State Bar Council of Chhattisgarh
High Court premises,
Bilaspur - 495 001.
Chhattisgarh
· High Court Building,
Sher Shah Suri Road,
New Delhi
· Bar Council of Gujarat,
3rd Floor, "Satyamev Complex"
Opp. High Court Building, Sola,
Ahmedabad - 380 060
· Bar Council of Himachal Pradesh,
High Court Building,
Ravenswood,
Shimla - 171 001
Himachal Pradesh
· Bar Council of Karnataka,
Old K.G.I.D. Building,
1st Floor (Left Wing End)
Adjacent to the High Court Building,
Bangalore-560001.
Karnataka
· Bar Council of Kerala,
Bar Council Bhawan,
High Court Campus,
Ernakulam-682 031.
· High Court Compound,
Jabalpur- 482007
Madhya Pradesh
· Bar Council of Maharashtra & Goa,
2nd Floor High Court Extn.,
Fort, Mumbai - 400032.
Maharastra
· Bar Council of Orissa,
Kacheri Road,
Cuttack - 753 002
Orissa
· Bar Council of Punjab & Haryana
S. C. O. No. 308
Sector 38-D (Market)
Chandigarh - 160 014
· Bar Council of Rajasthan,
High Court Building,
Jodhpur-342 001.
· Bar Council of Tamil Nadu,
High Court Compound,
Chennai - 600104
Tamil Nadu
· Bar Council of Uttar Pradesh,
19, Maharishi Dayanand Marg,
Allahabad - 211 001
· Bar Council of West Bengal,
2 & 3 Kiransankar Roy Road,
Kolkota.-700 001
West Bengal
· The Registrar
High Court of Jammu & Kashmir
High Court Campus,
Jammu
· The Registrar General
High Court of Jharkhand
Ranchi, Jharkhand.
