Advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh from the 2009-10 academic year onwards will have to clear the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) to continue practising law, following a fresh directive issued by the Jammu and Kashmir High Court.
The requirement, already prescribed by the Bar Council of India (BCI) for law graduates from 2009-10 onwards, had not been formally enforced for advocates enrolled with the regional Bar Council. The High Court has now moved to bring the enrolment process in line with the national rules.
A notification issued by Registrar General MK Sharma on October 10 sets out the requirements for both existing advocates and newly enrolled law graduates.
Under the directive, law graduates who enrolled with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after completing their degrees in the 2009-10 academic year or later must pass the AIBE if they have not already done so.
Newly enrolled advocates face a two-year deadline
Fresh law graduates and advocates holding provisional enrolment will receive an absolute certificate of enrolment only after clearing the AIBE and submitting the Certificate of Practice (COP) issued by the Bar Council of India. The prescribed deadline for completing these requirements is two years.
The High Court has also directed advocates enrolled after July 1, 2010, who have already passed the examination, to submit copies of their Certificates of Practice to the Registry within one month.
The move follows a Full Court decision taken on October 8 to accept a recommendation made by the Rules Committee on August 19. The recommendation called for the implementation of Rules 9, 10 and 11 of Chapter III, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules, which govern the examination and certification requirements for advocates.
AIBE clearance linked to the right to practise
Rule 9 of the BCI Rules requires advocates to pass the All India Bar Examination to become eligible to practise under Chapter IV of the Advocates Act, 1961. Rule 11 deals with the issuance of Certificates of Practice to candidates who successfully clear the examination.
With the High Court’s latest notification, advocates covered by the directive will have to ensure that their examination and certification requirements are fulfilled within the prescribed timelines.