Govt proposes super regulator for lawyers

[CA.BHUPENDRASHAH]

[[Govt proposes super regulator for lawyers

Once Passed,Law Will Clip Bar Councils Wings
]Dhananjay Mahapatra TNN

New Delhi: The Centre on Thursday came out with a proposed legislation to create
a super regulatory body to oversee the ethics and conduct of more than one
million advocates and legal professionals as well supervise the legal education
system.Given the flexing of muscle by the Bar Council of India (BCI) in the recent past
by being the sole regulatory body for advocates,the ministrys move is seen by
experts as one that would clip the wings of BCI.
Importantly,the proposed law Legal Practitioners (Regulations and Maintenance of
Standards in Professions,Protecting the Interest of Clients and Promoting the
Rule of Law) Act,2010 aims to control the conduct of legal professionals
solicitors not appearing in courts,those appearing in tribunals or even
representing clients in departmental inquiries who had not been within the ambit
of the regulatory mechanism of BCI.
It aims to protect clients from harassment at the hands of those legal
professionals who are not covered under the Advocates Act,1961,having not been
registered by the concerned state Bar Councils.The ministry has sought comments
on the proposed law from the public and the legal fraternity.
In addition,the Legal Services Board (LSB),proposed to be set up under the Act
in line with the one functioning in UK,would establish and maintain a panel of
persons to be known as consumer panel to represent the interests of consumers
and clients of the legal professionals.This move is meant to check exploitation
of litigants and clients by legal professionals,including advocates.The consumer
panel shall have a fair degree of representation of both the consumers/clients
of the legal professionals and those who are using or may be contemplating using
the services of the legal professionals as consumers/clients, the proposed law
mentioned.