The Bar Council of India (BCI) has now made changes to its rules, allowing foreign lawyers and law firms to practice foreign law in India.
NEW DELHI: Chief Justice of India (CJI) BR Gavai has said that allowing foreign law firms to enter India will help in making the country a global centre for international commercial arbitration.
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Speaking at the International Conference on Arbitrating Indo-UK Disputes held in London, CJI Gavai expressed strong support for the Bar Council of India’s (BCI) decision to allow foreign lawyers in specific arbitration cases.
The Chief Justice made it clear that the rights of Indian legal professionals will not be harmed by this decision. The BCI has clarified that foreign lawyers will only be allowed to participate in international arbitration proceedings held in India, and only if the arbitration involves foreign or international law.
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has now made changes to its rules, allowing foreign lawyers and law firms to practice foreign law in India.
However, this can only happen on a reciprocal basis, meaning Indian lawyers should also be allowed to do the same in those foreign countries.
These changes were first announced on March 10, 2023, but now they have officially come into effect under the Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022.
According to a press release, these new rules are mainly made to protect Indian lawyers’ interests while at the same time allowing foreign legal professionals to work on specific types of legal matters in India.
These matters include only non-litigation work, such as giving advice on foreign law, international law, or participating in arbitration related to international deals and disputes.
The press release clearly says,
“The BCI has further clarified that foreign lawyers may participate in international commercial arbitration conducted in India, provided such arbitration involves foreign law or international law, thereby promoting India as a viable destination for international arbitration without compromising the rights of Indian legal professionals.”
The idea behind these changes is to allow Indian lawyers and law firms to grow internationally.
Now, Indian advocates and law firms can register as foreign lawyers or foreign law firms, which allows them to give consultancy on foreign law and international law, even outside India.
Importantly, they don’t have to stop practicing Indian law within India.
As the press release explains,
“Indian advocates and law firms may register as foreign lawyers or foreign law firms, allowing them to expand their practice to foreign law and international law consultancy without relinquishing their rights to practice Indian law in domestic forums. This dual registration provides Indian lawyers with an opportunity to broaden their professional horizons while maintaining their status as advocates under Indian law.”
To make sure that Indian lawyers are not unfairly affected, the BCI has made strict rules for registration and renewal of foreign lawyers and foreign law firms.
They must show proper documents like law degrees, certificates of no objection from their country, and declarations that they will follow Indian laws.
He quoted the Bar Council’s clarification:
“The Bar Council of India further clarified that foreign lawyers may participate in international commercial arbitration conducted in India, provided such arbitration involves foreign or international law, thereby promoting India as a viable destination for international arbitration without compromising the rights of Indian legal professionals.”
CJI Gavai praised this step as one that would raise the standard of arbitration in India. He noted:
“[It] will be effective in increasing the overall quality of arbitration in India.”
He explained that by introducing global best practices, India’s arbitration system will become more robust, credible, and attractive to foreign businesses and investors.
The CJI also emphasised that Indian lawyers have great potential to act as arbitrators themselves. But this opportunity, he said, is still largely unexplored.
He said India has everything it takes to become an international arbitration hub, especially with its growing economy and recent legal reforms.
CJI Gavai said that both India and the UK are well placed to work together to improve their dispute resolution systems.
“By promoting dialogue, encouraging joint institutional initiatives, and building confidence among businesses and practitioners, we can create a seamless dispute resolution environment that benefits both jurisdictions,” he said.
India’s Minister of State for Law and Justice (Independent Charge), Arjun Ram Meghwal, also spoke at the conference. He said that India and the UK are currently enjoying a very strong phase in their bilateral relations, and pointed to the recent Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as a milestone.
“By working together, they can build a framework which is fair and transparent and inspires business confidence on both sides.”
He stressed that a strong legal framework will further boost trust and trade between the two nations.
Lord Michael Briggs, a judge of the UK Supreme Court, said that arbitral tribunals and courts are not competitors, but rather support each other to ensure justice.
“Commercial arbitration proceedings not only respect party autonomy but also ease the burden on courts…Meanwhile, the effectiveness and enforceability of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism ultimately depends on it being sanctioned and enforced and, where appropriate, being regulated by the national courts,” he said.
Lord Briggs referred to the Gayatri Balasamy v. ISG Novasoft Technologies Limited judgment of the Indian Supreme Court as an example of how Indian courts are fine-tuning arbitration law.
He explained that the ruling allows courts to modify an arbitral award to correct obvious errors, or even to sever invalid parts, and in rare cases, do complete justice using Article 142 of the Constitution.
“[As per the judgement] arbitration awards could be modified to sever the invalid part of the award or to correct an error on the face of the record, modify post award interest or, but with great caution, under Section [Article] 142 of the Indian Constitution even to do complete justice in the case at hand,” he said.
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