The BCI passed a resolution on 28 July after considering letters from the Gujarat and Kerala bar councils asking about whether new advocates should be allowed to practice until they passed the AIBE.
The BCI noted:
In view of the practical difficulties in conduct of All India Bar Exam and the delay in holding the same, it is RESOLVED to request all the State Bar Council to provisionally permit the newly enrolled advocates to practice for a period of six months from today.
In the meantime, they should also be asked to furnish an undertaking by way of affidavit on the prescribed Performa stating that they shall not practice after the said period of six months without passing the [AIBE].
in case, the candidate fails to pass the [AIBE] within the prescribed period, he/she shall be required to seek fresh permission for provisional practice to the concerned State Bar Council, which in any case, shall not exceed a further period of six months.
In the pro forma affidavit, advocates “undertake that I will practice as an advocate provisionally until I qualify the [AIBE] (to be held in October/November, 2012 or within the next six months)”.
In August the BCI stated that the exam was not likely to be held before October, after the regulator invited tenders from organisations to conduct this year’s AIBE.
Similar plans allowing graduates to practice while waiting for the AIBE to be held were first introduced in the 2010 AIBE after complications in the conduct of the exam.
Download the pro forma and resolution here.
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Find a few examples of people whose lives are on hold due to the endless re-scheduling of the AIBE. You could look at someone who wants to go aborad, someone who wants to join a firm, someone who takes on clients but can't promise he'll be able to practice in 6 mos. - there are all sorts of people hurt by this.
While you legitimately might fear rankling BCI by editorializing on this issue, you can accomplish your duty by telling the stories of those affected rather than by simply opining.
BCI has a legitimate duty to help raise the quality of lawyers in our country. But their manifest inability to manage this exam and their apparent willingness to trample on the lives of junior lawyers deserves a mature, well-reported airing. This is an ongoing story, not a blog post. Please consider acting like a reporter rather than a blogger. You have a responsibility and an opportunity here.
Quick question though: does it actually cause difficulties in legal practice or does everyone practice anyway willy nilly without paying heed to affidavit or AIBE etc. I mean, is this thing even enforced, ever? Has anyone, ever, asked ANYONE for their AIBE pass mark?
I understand it's a pain in the neck, but question is, has it changed things even one jot so far on the ground?
That in itself is of course a valid angle to write about, but can be countered with the argument that the AIBE is a good thing in the long term and any inconvenience faced now, will be outweighed by the improvement this will hopefully bring in legal education.
The fact that it is incompetently administered is sort of obvious to everyone, and evidenced well in the continuing "blog posts" we are doing, though possibly putting them all together will add some perspective.
Best wishes,
Kian
If we do not take this seriously, and consider that BCI is simply trying to acheive legitimacy through momentum and threat, the implications are even more interesting.
In any event, one can see this in the context of a longer story tat assesses the BCI's ability to improve lawyer standards. If they can't manage to hire someone to hold law exams twice a year, where do their other efforts stand? And you have a terrific quote from the chairman, who said that the exams would be held in October.
It's also possible the exam itself could change in the hands of a new service provider. I doubt Pearson would be happy simply amdinistering someone else's work, for example.
Look, this is Journalism 101. The state of the AIBE says a great deal about the state of lawyering in India. If you're looking for a story to demonstrate your real reporting chops, this is a good one. It's not just about the exam.
I think this exercise is designed to bury the Bar Exam. They will keep pushing this around and then the Bar Exam will end. Why did the BCI not go ahead with the tendering way in advance? All this hue and cry about Rainmaker and nepotism turned their heads and they have gone into a huddle again. Why could they not have allowed Rainmaker to conduct the August/October instalment and carried on the tendering process for the next one? Why has no one (other than GS) acknowledged Rainmaker's stellar conduct of the exam? For all the accusations of nepotism, we have not heard any appreciation of their efforts in preparing stellar materials and conducting the exams well.
If anybody other Rainmaker wins the tender, they will take about 6-10 months to set up systems. And clearly it appears that this is the way the BCI seems to be going with. And don't tell me a Pearson that barely understands India is better qualified than Rainmaker that has proved itself capable and able.
All this hue and cry about making sure that this is addressed at the university/law college levels is absolute balderdash. The Bar Exam was meant to increase the standard at the Bar, as the resolution of the issues at the legal education level will require a generational change. Even the NLUs cannot get (have never got) top notch faculty, where will 800 law schools get that. It is indeed very sad that the legal profession is so happy to remain mired in mediocrity.
If things have to be changed, one particular set will have to pay the price, as is what is being asked of 3-4 batches of law graduates. As with everything in the country, nobody wants to pay a price and everyone wants the benefits. We will continue to wallow in mediocrity and even liberalisation will not help in this. So, the next time there is a collective breast-beating on how the standards are appalling, lets all remember that we have all contributed to it.
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