BCI Amends Rules Allowing Foreign Law Firms & Lawyers To Practice Non-Litigious Matters In India
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has notified amendments to rules allowing foreign lawyers and law firms to practice foreign law (non-litigation) in India on the basis of reciprocity.
The recent notification of May 13 by BCI states that the amendment to the Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022 intends to regulate the practice of international law in India without causing any harm to the traditional litigation by Indian advocates.
The notification states that the BCI "resolves to amend the Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022, earlier gazetted on 10th March, 2023." It further enforces the amended rules which "shall come into effect immediately upon publication in the Official Gazette".
Notably, 'reciprocity basis' finds its roots under S. 47 of the Advocates Act 1961, as per which foreign lawyers can practise in India only if their respective home countries allow lawyers from India to practise there upon similar conditions.