Rules For Registration And Regulation Of Foreign Lawyers And Foreign Law Firms In India, 2022:
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has notified the Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022.
New Rules:
- The notification allows foreign lawyers and law firms to register with BCI to practice in India if they are entitled to practice law in their home countries. However, they cannot practice Indian law.
- According to the Advocates Act 1961, advocates enrolled with the Bar Council alone are entitled to practise law in India.
- All others, such as a litigant, can appear only with the permission of the court, authority or person before whom the proceedings are pending.
- They shall be allowed to practice transactional work /corporate work (Non-Litigious Practice) such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, Intellectual Property matters, drafting of contracts and other related matters on a reciprocal basis.
- They shall not be involved or permitted to do any work pertaining to the conveyancing of property, title investigation or other similar works.
- Indian lawyers working with foreign law firms will also be subject to the same restriction of engaging only in “Non-Litigious Practice.”
