The Union Government has issued the gazette notification of Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022.
The gazette notification was issued on March 10, 2023.
The Chapter II of the rules and regulation gives details of the Registration of foreign lawyers or foreign law firms and eligibility criteria there for :
(1) A foreign lawyer or foreign law firm shall not be entitled to practice law in India unless he/it is registered with the Bar Council of India under these Rules.
The areas of practice of law by a foreign lawyer or Foreign Law Firm shall be laid down by Bar Council of India And if need be, the Bar Council of India may consult the Govt. of India, Ministry of Law and Justice in this regard, as per the gazette.
The foreign lawyers or foreign Law Firms shall not be permitted to appear before any courts, tribunals or other statutory or regulatory authorities.
They shall be allowed to practice on transactional work /corporate work such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property matters, drafting of contracts and other related matters on reciprocal basis.
They shall not be involved or permitted to do any work pertaining to conveyancing of property, Title investigation or other similar works, as per the gazette.
The registered foreign lawyer or foreign Law Firm shall be entitled to do the following things in
connection with the practice of law in India:
(i) to open law office or offices in India for carrying on law practice in India as mentioned in Rule 8 of these Rules and subject to the condition that Bar Council of India shall be kept informed of the particulars of such office/offices viz. postal address, name of the owner/lessee of the property in which the office/offices are located and the documents enabling and entitling him/it to occupy it.
(ii) to engage and procure legal expertise/advise of one or more Indian Advocates Registered as foreign lawyers,
(iii) to procure the legal expertise/advise of any Advocate enrolled with any State Bar Council in India on any subject relating to Indian Laws. But such registered foreign lawyer or foreign Law Firm shall not be entitled to appear before any Indian Court, Tribunal or any other statutory forum except for the maters mentioned under provision of Rule 8 of these
Rules.
(iv) to enter into Partnership with one or more Foreign Lawyers or Foreign Law Firm registered in India under these rules.
Provided that this prohibition will not apply to law practice by a foreign lawyer or foreign law firm in case such practice is done on a ‘fly in and fly out basis’ for the purpose of giving legal advice to the client in India regarding foreign law and on diverse international legal issues and provided further that such expertise/advise of such a foreign lawyer or foreign law firm had been procured by the client in a foreign country and foreign lawyer or foreign law firm does not maintain an office in India for the purpose of such practice and lastly such practice in India for one or more periods does not, in aggregate, exceed 60 days in any period of 12 months.
‘Right to practice law’ in the concerned ‘foreign country of the primary qualification’ shall be the primary qualification for practicing law in India under these rules, as per the gazette.
In India Legal profession is treated as a noble profession. There is and should be no commercial competition or procurement associated with the Legal Profession. Legal Profession is not treated as a commercial activity or service in India. Law is not a trade, and briefs no merchandise so the leaven of commercial competition or procurement should not vulgarize the legal profession (Hon’ble Justice Krishnairyer, V.R .), as per the gazette.
In the opinion of Bar Council of India the legal profession in India has to rise to the occasion to meet the global changes in the Legal Arena caused by migration of people from one country to other on such a large scale that had not been witnessed in earlier days. The world is becoming a global village, as per the the gazette.
International trade and commerce is advancing at a great pace. The demand for an open, responsive and receptive legal professional dispensation mechanism in India from clients/public who operate in international and cross-country business is becoming severe day by day. Growth in international legal work sphere and globalization of legal practice and internationalization of the law is increasingly becoming relevant to the growth of the legal profession and practices in India, as per the gazette.
Time has come to take a call on the issue. Bar Council of India is of the view that opening up of law practice in India to foreign lawyers in the field of practice of foreign law; diverse international legal issues in nonlitigious
matters and in international arbitration cases would go a long way in helping legal profession/domain grow in India to the benefit of lawyers in India too, as per the gazette.
It is noteworthy that the standards of Indian lawyers in proficiency in law is comparable with the international standards and the legal fraternity in
India is not likely to suffer any disadvantage in case law practice in India is opened up to foreign lawyers in a restricted and well controlled and regulated manner on the principle of reciprocity as it would be mutually
beneficial for lawyers from India and abroad and these Rules are an attempt by Bar Council of India in this direction, as per the gazette.
These rules will also help to address the concerns expressed about flow of Foreign Direct Investment in the country and making India a hub of International Commercial Arbitration. In case, we sleep over the matter, the legal fraternity of India may be left behind in providing legal/professional expertise in accordance to the rule of law in a manner consistent with the best interests of this fast growing class of clients in India. Let us ensure than an opportunity for creating development and growth for legal profession
and in the legal sphere in India is not lost, as per the gazette.
Many countries have already allowed the foreign lawyers to practice foreign law and diverse international legal issues and arbitration matters in their countries in restricted fields with specific and prescribed conditions, as per the gazette.
