BCI proposes Advocates Act overhaul, bars foreign lawyers from Indian courts
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has proposed a revised Draft Advocates Act Amendment Bill, 2026, which introduces changes to Section 47 to ensure that
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has proposed a revised Draft Advocates Act Amendment Bill, 2026, which introduces changes to Section 47 to ensure that Indian courts remain the exclusive domain of Indian advocates and that foreign lawyers and law firms are not permitted to appear before any Indian court. The proposals also state that draft rules governing foreign law firms and lawyers must be framed with prior approval from the central government, as the Centre is best placed to take into account the country's diplomatic and bilateral relations with foreign countries. They also propose increasing women's representation in the apex statutory body from 25 to 33, including four elected and three co-opted members.
The draft seeks to empower the BCI and state bar councils to administer welfare funds for insurance, pensions, medical relief and support for advocates' disabled and dependent family members, to be funded through subscriptions that the councils may now legally collect. It also proposed increasing the Legal Education Committee to 25 members, up from 10. They can bring in former judges, the attorney general, solicitor general, vice-chancellors and law deans. The BCI has proposed to raise the enrolment fee for new advocates to ₹18,000 for the State Bar Council and an additional ₹4,500 for the BCI, citing the Supreme Court's 2024 ruling in Gaurav Kumar v.
Union of India, which flagged the old fee as badly out of step with inflation. The BCI circulated the draft on 18 July and invited recommendations until 31 July. Also Read | Lawyers see bigger raises as law firms defy India Inc pay slowdown Second attempt This is the second attempt to amend the si decade-old law governing India’s legal profession. The draft of 2025, brought in by the law ministry, sought government nominees on the BCI and threatened advocates with heavy fines and disciplinary action for participating in strikes. The revised draft drops proposals for government nominees and a ₹5 lakh fine for disciplinary lapses, as these were strongly opposed by the BCI, which said the legal profession should continue to be regulated by the statutory body rather than the government.
Also Read | Creators turn to lawyers as legal risks rise in digital content “The BCI should regulate and not prohibit foreign lawyers in arbitration. The competition will improve the quality of advocacy," said retired Justice Hemant Gupta.
The BriefWire