Need for transparency, support for young lawyers holding foreign degrees, senior advocate Indira Jaising writes to the Bar Council of India

Questioning the delays in the pronouncement of results for the qualifying examination for Indian Nationals holding foreign law degrees, senior advocate Indira Jaising makes an appeal to the Bar Council of India to support young lawyers.

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IN an open letter to the Chairman of the Bar Council of India (BCI), senior advocate Indira Jaising has raised certain grievances with the level of transparency observed by the BCI in its functioning. Chief among them is the delay in pronouncement of results for the qualifying examination for Indian nationals holding foreign law degrees.

The qualifying exam is mandatory for those who hold a degree in law from a BCI-recognised foreign university to commence practising in India, though only after also qualifying the All India Bar Examination (AIBE). 

The last edition of the qualifying examination for Indian Nationals holding foreign law degrees was held between December 19 to 24, 2022 after a last-minute change in the date of the exam from December 5 to 10, 2022. The result for the exam is yet to be pronounced by the BCI, despite the elapse of five months, a fact Jaising notes in her letter. 

It is her concern that after first delaying the holding of the exam, which typically takes place between July and August, the schedule was altered without providing any explanation, leaving numerous students from various cities in India, and from parts of the United Kingdom, to modify their travel and accommodation bookings. At 46, the United Kingdom has the highest number of universities recognised by the BCI.