- Monday, March 03, 2025
By: Shubham Ghosh
The Bar Council of India (BCI), which regulates legal practices in the country, has decided to allow foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in India.
According to an Indian Express report, the BCI, which had earlier opposed the move, on Monday (13) notified the Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022.
“A foreign lawyer registered under rules shall be entitled to practice law in India in non-litigious matters only…,” the rules said, meaning that foreign lawyers and law firms can provide legal advice by registering with the BCI although they cannot appear in the courts.
“The foreign lawyers or foreign law firms shall not be permitted to appear before any courts, tribunals or other statutory or regulatory authorities. They shall be allowed to practice on transactional work /corporate work such as joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property matters, drafting of contracts and other related matters on reciprocal basis,” according to the notification.
The rules also said that the areas of practising law by a foreign lawyer or firm shall be laid down by the Indian body and “if need be, the Bar Council of India may consult the Govt. of India, Ministry of Law and Justice in this regard”.
Under the rules, the BCI may also decline to register any foreign lawyer or law firm if “in the opinion of the Council, the number of Foreign Lawyers or Foreign Law Firms of any particular Foreign country registered in India is likely to become disproportionate to the number of Indian Lawyers or Indian Law Firms registered or allowed to practice law in the corresponding foreign country”, the Indian Express report added.
