Functions of Bar Councils as per Sections 6 and 7

 

Vande Matram! In this article, I am discussing the functions of Bar Councils which are in the light of the Bar Council of India rule and the Advocates’ Act, 1961. Let’s begin.

Functions of Bar Councils:

Introduction:

Advocates’ Act 1961 governs the legal profession in India and for the association purpose of all the legal practitioners the Act provides for the constitution of the Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils across the territory of India. There are about 21 State Bar Councils in India that are working for the betterment of advocates in their respective jurisdictions.

S R Das committee i.e. All India Bar Committee headed by S R Das through the report of March 1953 proposed for the creation of a bar council for each state and an all India bar council as an apex body. It was suggested that the all-India bar council would regulate the legal profession and set the standard of legal education.

The State Bar Councils are statutory bodies established under Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961. These are the statutory bodies for all the states and union territories of India. Also, Section 4 of the Act provides for the constitution of the Bar Council of India which is the apex statutory body of the Bar councils in India. All bar councils regulate the rules for the legal profession and education in their respective states and also act as the representatives of the advocates of that state, thereby acting in their interests.

As Bar Councils are established as per the provisions of Section 3 and Section 4 of Advocates’ Act, 1961; each Bar Council has to perform certain functions in their respective jurisdictions. They are elaborated in Sections 6 and 7 of the Act. Section 6 provides for the functions of a State Bar Council which state as follows:

6. Functions of State Bar Councils.―(1) The functions of a State Bar Council shall be―

(a) to admit persons as advocates on its roll;

(b) to prepare and maintain such roll;

(c) to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll;

(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll;

(dd) to promote the growth of Bar Associations for the purposes of effective implementation of the welfare schemes referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (2) of this section and clause (a) of sub-section (2) of section 7;

(e) to promote and support law reform;

(ee) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest;

(eee) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner;

(f) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council;

(g) to provide for the election of its members;

(gg) to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with the directions given under clause (i) of

sub-section (1) of section 7;

(h) to perform all other functions conferred on it by or under this Act;

(i) to do all other things necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions.

(2) A State Bar Council may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of—

(a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent, disabled or other advocates;

(b) giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf;

(c) establishing law libraries.

(3) A State Bar Council may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2) which shall be credited to the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section.

The functions given in the Section 6 has to be performed in the light of Section 7 of the Act which is as follows:

7. Functions of Bar Council of India.―

(1) The functions of the Bar Council of India shall be―

* * * * *

(b) to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates;

(c) to lay down the procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council;

(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates;

(e) to promote and support law reform;

(f) to deal with and dispose of any matter arising under this Act, which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council;

(g) to exercise general supervision and control over State Bar Councils;

(h) to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education in consultation with the Universities in India imparting such education and the State Bar Councils;

(i) to recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate and for that purpose to visit and inspect Universities or cause the State Bar Councils to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with such directions as it may give in this behalf;

(ia) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest;

(ib) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner;

(ic) to recognise on a reciprocal basis foreign qualifications in law obtained outside India for the purpose of admission as an advocate under this Act;]

(j) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council;

(k) to provide for the election of its members;

(l) to perform all other functions conferred on it by or under this Act;

(m) to do all other things necessary for discharging the aforesaid functions.

(2) The Bar Council of India may constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of—

(a) giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for indigent, disabled or other advocates;

(b) giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf.

(c) establishing law libraries.

(3) The Bar Council of India may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2) which shall be credited to the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section.

As bar councils are of two types: a) Bar Council of India and b) State Bar Council, the functions and responsibilities are more or less same for the both. Let’s have a look on the cooperation of the both for each function:

Function	Bar Council of India	State Bar Councils
Sec. 6(1)(a) to admit persons as advocates on its roll	Help to State Bar Councils by allotting funds for the same	It is the sole responsibility of State Bar Councils to enroll the law graduates from their jurisdictions.
Sec. 6(1)(b) to prepare and maintain such roll	Help to State Bar Councils by allotting funds for the same	It is the sole responsibility of State Bar Councils to enroll the law graduates from their jurisdictions.
Sec. 6(1)(c) to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll	Frame rules of the disciplinary committee to perform such actions (Sec. 7(1)(c))	Must act according to the rules and regulations of the disciplinary committee and complete the required procedure in such matters. State bar councils may refer such matters to BCI in certain circumstances.
Sec. 6(1)(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on its roll. Sec. 7(1)(d) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates	The bar councils are established for the rights of the advocates hence it is necessary to safeguard the rights, privileges, and interests of advocates on the roll.	The bar councils are established for the rights of the advocates hence it is necessary to safeguard the rights, privileges and interests of advocates on the roll.
Sec. 6(1)(dd) to promote the growth of Bar Associations for the purposes of effective implementation of the welfare schemes	Allot funds for such welfare schemes as mentioned in Sec. 6(2)(a) and 7(2)(a)	Implement such schemes for the welfare of the advocates in need and disabled as mentioned in Sec. 6(2)(a) and 7(2)(a)
Sec. 6(1)(e) to promote and support law reform   Sec. 7(1)(e) to promote and support law reform	Law reforms are necessary as the new developments in all the eras of life are taking place day by day. The Bar Council must arrange such programmes for the promotion and support of law reforms which are supporting natural justice. Guide state bar councils for the same.	Law reforms are necessary as the new developments in all the eras of life are taking place day by day. The Bar Council must arrange such programmes for the promotion and support of law reforms which are supporting natural justice. Conduct such promotion under the guidance of BCI
Sec. 6(1)(ee) to conduct seminars and organise talks on legal topics by eminent jurists and publish journals and papers of legal interest Sec. 7(1)(ia)	BCI may provide financial aid for such purpose for awareness of the law and for the academic development of the field. Also, BCI can conduct such seminars, talk shows and can publish law papers and journals on the national level.	State bar councils must organize programmes and conduct projects for such purposes for awareness of the law and for the academic development of the field. Such tasks must be performed at the state level.
Sec. 6(1)(eee) to organise legal aid to the poor in the prescribed manner Sec. 7(1)(ib)	BCI can allot funds for such operations. And guide such projects as per the provisions of the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987	State Bar Councils must organize such programmes in the guidance of BCI in the light of the Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987
Sec. 6(1)(f) to manage and invest the funds of the Bar Council Sec. 7(1)(j)	BCI allots funds to State bar councils for performing various functions. Also, BCI has to manage its own funds and sustainably invest them so that all the functions can be performed.	State Bar Councils must manage such funds and bifurcate them to invest sustainably so that all the functions can be performed.
Sec. 6(1)(g) to provide for the election of its members Sec. 7(1)(k)	BCI allots funds for this purpose to State Bar Councils. Also, BCI allocates these funds for conducting elections for its members.	State Bar Councils allocate these funds for conducting elections for the members of the bar council as well as for the committee members of subordinate bar associations through the election.
Sec. 6(1)(gg) to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with the directions given under clause (i) of sub-section (1) of section 7	Guide the state bar councils for conducting such inspections of the universities giving law education	Must perform the inspection of universities giving law education at undergraduate, graduate, postgraduate and Ph.D. levels for the academic growth of the profession. Must follow the guiding principles of BCI.
Sec. 6(2)(a) and Sec. 7(2)(a) constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of giving financial assistance to organise welfare schemes for the indigent, disabled or other Advocates	It is the responsibility of BCI to allot such funds and implement such schemes for all the advocates enrolled under any roll in the country who are needy or disabled. And perform such welfare work with help of state bar councils.	It is the responsibility of the state bar council to utilize such allotted funds by BCI and implement schemes for all the advocates enrolled under any roll in the country who are needy or disabled. And perform such welfare work with help of subordinate bar associations.
Sec. 6(2)(b) and Sec. 7(2)(b) constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of giving legal aid or advice in accordance with the rules made in this behalf	It is the responsibility of BCI to allot such funds and implement such schemes for poor and weaker sections of society in light of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987	It is the responsibility of state bar council to utilize such allotted funds by BCI and implement schemes for poor and weaker sections of society in light of Legal Service Authorities Act, 1987
Sec. 6(2)(c) and Sec. 7(2)(c) constitute one or more funds in the prescribed manner for the purpose of establishing law libraries	It is the responsibility of BCI to allot such funds and establish law libraries across the nation for the academic growth of the profession.	It is the responsibility of the state bar council to utilize such allotted funds by BCI and establish law libraries across its jurisdiction for the academic growth of the profession.
Sec. 6(3) A State Bar Council may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2) which shall be credited to the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section	Not applicable	Sole responsibility of respective state bar council.
Sec. 7(1)(b) to lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates	It is the responsibility of BCI to frame such rules and regulations for professional conduct and etiquettes of the advocates.	State bar councils must spread awareness of such rules and regulations for professional conduct and the etiquettes of the advocates.
Sec. 7(1)(c) to lay down the procedure to be followed by its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council	It is the sole responsibility of BCI to frame a procedure of working of its disciplinary committee and the disciplinary committee of each State Bar Council so that the universal procedure is followed across India. All the matters are handled in a specific way as per this procedure.	Must act according to the rules and regulations of the disciplinary committee and complete the required procedure in such matters. State bar councils may refer such matters to BCI in certain circumstances.
Sec. 7(1)(f) to deal with and dispose of any matter arising under this Act, which may be referred to it by a State Bar Council	BCI must follow the procedure laid as per Sec. 7(1)(c) for this purpose and deal the matters referred to it by state bar councils for their disposal.	State bar council may refer matters before its disciplinary committee to BCI disciplinary committee in certain circumstances after fairly dealing with such matters as per Sec. 6(1)(c).
Sec. 7(1)(g) to exercise general supervision and control over State Bar Councils	BCI must conduct the supervision of the state bar councils are regular intervals.	State bar councils must co-operate such supervisions conducted by BCI.
Sec, 7(1)(h) to promote legal education and to lay down standards of such education in consultation with the Universities in India imparting such education and the State Bar Councils	Bar councils are established for the growth of the legal profession. For this legal education is necessary and BCI should lay down standards for such legal education. Universities imparting law education and state bar councils can suggest such standards.	The State bar council can suggest the standard of legal education imparted by universities for the academic growth of the profession. Also, it is the responsibility of state bar councils to implement such standards in universities under their respective jurisdictions.
Sec. 7(1)(i) to recognise Universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrolment as an advocate and for that purpose to visit and inspect Universities or cause the State Bar Councils to visit and inspect Universities in accordance with such directions as it may give in this behalf;	These inspections of universities are necessary to maintain the standard of the profession. BCI can direct state bar councils to conduct such inspections.	State bar councils must perform the inspections of universities with the guidance and directions of the BCI to maintain the standards of legal education imparted by the universities.
Sec. 7(3) The Bar Council of India may receive any grants, donations, gifts or benefactions for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (2) which shall be credited to the appropriate fund or funds constituted under that sub-section.	Sole responsibility of BCI	Not applicable.

So these are the functions and responsibilities of the BCI and state bar councils for the welfare and protection of advocates, academic growth of the profession, the spread of legal awareness, and promotion of legal knowledge to the date.

Note: Part in Red words is part of Bare Act – Advocates’ Act, 1961.

If you want to know about specific provisions of the Advocates’ Act, 1961 and the Bar Council Rules then let me know in the comments below.

To know the references and to read more articles related to Professional ethics and professional accounting system please visit this page Legal Profession: Professional Ethics and Professional accounting system.

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