Careful consideration required

Dear Madam,

The Bar Council of India has proposed the introduction of a bar council examination that law graduates must pass in order to start practising law. The proposal follows a Supreme Court order dated 14 December 2009 in which the court stressed the need for such an examination in order to determine whether new graduates entering the profession were suitable to practise law in the country.

In addition, the Bar Council of India has unveiled plans to make it mandatory for all law students to get actively involved in legal aid, especially in rural areas, for four months in their final year. They will also be required to undertake a six-month compulsory internship in a trial court at the start of their legal careers.

To a certain extent these moves are all welcome. However, several issues need to be given careful consideration before the proposals are finalized. In particular, the Bar Council of India should set out detailed criteria to determine which students will be required to take the examination. In so doing, it must consider the course curriculum of each law school in order to decide whether a graduate from that particular college actually needs to take the examination.