(i) “Act” means The Advocates Act, 1961.
(ii) “Approved” means approved by the Bar Council of India.
(iii) “Bar Council of India or Council or BCI” shall mean Bar Council of
India constituted under the Act.
(iv) “Centres of Legal Education” means
(a) All approved Departments of Law of Universities, Colleges of Law,
Constituent Colleges under recognized Universities and affiliated Colleges or Schools of law of recognized Universities so approved.
Provided that a Department or College or Institution conducting
correspondence courses through distance education shall not be
included.
(b) National Law Universities constituted and established by statutes of
the Union or States and mandated to start and run Law courses.
(v) “Compulsory subjects” means and include subjects prescribed by the
Bar Council of India as such.
(vi) “Bachelor degree in law” means and includes a degree in law conferred
by the University recognized by the Bar Council of India for the purpose
of the Act and includes a bachelor degree in law after any bachelor
degree in science, arts, commerce, engineering, medicine, or any other
discipline of a University for a period of study not less than three years
or an integrated bachelor degree combining the course of a first bachelor
degree in any subject and also the law running together in concert and
compression for not less than a period of five years after 10+2 or 11+1
courses as the case may be.
(vii) “Enrolment” means enrolment on the Rolls of the Advocates maintained
by the State Bar Councils as per the procedure laid down for the purpose
by State Bar Councils/BCI as per Advocates Act, 1961.
(viii) “First Degree” means Bachelor Degree in any branch of knowledge such
as Arts, Fine Arts, Science, Commerce, Management, Medicine,
Engineering, Pharmacy, Technology etc. conferred by Universities or any
other qualifications awarded by an institution/authority recognized by
the Bar Council of India, from time to time.
(ix) “Foreign citizen or Foreigner” used in these Rules means a natural
person having citizenship and /or resident of any other country.
(x) “Foreign University” means and includes any University not constituted
under any Act of Parliament of India or any State Legislature in India
and which is incorporated outside India under the law of that country
and function as University for organizing, running and managing
courses of study and confer degree on successful completion of the
course.
(xi) “Indian or Indian national” used in these Rules means a natural person
having citizenship of India and includes Non Resident Indian or Person
of Indian Origin enjoying double citizenship in India.
(xii) “Inspection of the University” means inspection by the Bar Council of
India for recognizing its degree in law for the purpose of enrolment in
the rolls of advocates and includes
(xiii) “Integrated Degree course in law” means double degree course
comprising the bachelor degree in any branch of knowledge prosecuted
simultaneously with the Degree course in law in such an integrated
manner as may be designed by the University concerned for a
continuous period of not less than five years.
(xiv) “Lateral Entry” is an admission given to graduate applicants at the
beginning of third year in an integrated Five Year Course.
(xv) “Lateral Exit” means opting out at the end of three year after
successfully completing the courses up to the third year, from an
Integrated Five year course on being awarded a Bachelor degree.
(xvi) “Legal Education Committee or LEC” means the Legal Education
Committee constituted by the Bar Council of India under the Act,
composed of five members of the Bar Council of India nominated by the
Bar Council of India and five co-opted members comprising the
Chairman who has to be a former Judge of the Supreme Court of India, a
sitting Hon’ble Chief Justice of a High Court, distinguished Professor of
Law, the Law Secretary and the UGC Chairman. The Committee may
also have some permanent invitees proposed by the Bar Council of India.
(xvii) “Master degree” means a degree, which is undertaken after the graduate
degree in any discipline obtained from any University.
(xviii) “National Assessment and Accreditation Council” is the body
constituted as an autonomous body for conducting accreditation of
Universities and Centre of Legal Education, by the University Grants
Commission.
(xix) “Notify and Notification” means notifying in the website of the Bar
Council of India.
(xx) “Practice of law” means and includes
(a) practising before the Court,
Tribunal, Authority, Regulator, Administrative Body or Officer and any
Quasi Judicial and Administrative Body,
(b) giving legal advice either
individually or from a law firm either orally or in writing,
(c) giving
legal advice to any government, international body or representing any
international dispute resolution bodies including International Court of
Justice,
(d) engaged in Legal Drafting and participating in any Legal
Proceedings and
(e) representing in Arbitration Proceedings or any other
ADR approved by law.
(xxi) “Prescribed” means prescribed under these Rules.
(xxii) “Recognized University” means a University whose degree in law is
recognized by the Bar Council of India under these Rules.
(xxiii) “Regular Course of Study” means and includes a course which runs for
at least five hours a day continuously with an additional half an hour
recess every day and running not less than thirty hours of working
schedule per week.
(xxiv) “Regular Approval” means approval for not more than five years and
includes permanent approval earlier granted to any Centre of Legal
Education before these Rules come into force.
(xxv) “Rules” means on ‘Rules of Legal Education’.
(xxvi) “Second degree” means a course of study leading to degree, which can
be prosecuted only after obtaining a bachelor degree.
(xxvii) “Secretary” means Secretary of the Bar Council of India.
(xxviii) “Temporary approval” means approval for not more than a period of
three years.
(xxix) “Sponsors” means and includes a natural or artificial person, University,
a body of persons incorporated or otherwise, a public trust, or society
registered under the Union or any State Act for the purpose of
sponsoring, establishing, organizing, managing and running any Centre
of Legal Education.
(xxx) “State Bar Council” means the State Bar Council constituted in the State
under the Act.
(xxxi) “Unitary Degree course in law” means three years degree course in law
prosecuted by a student after completing a bachelor degree course in any
discipline.
(xxxii) “University” means as defined under the University Grants Commission
Act, 1956 including National Law Universities and other Universities
established by Acts of Central or State and also institutions declared as
Deemed to be University under Section 3 of the University Grants
Commission Act.
