Professional ethicsRight to practiseSupreme Court of India

Bar Council of India v A.K. Balaji

(2018) 5 SCC 379; AIR 2018 SC 138220181 min read
The case in brief30-second read
Facts
Appeals arose from Bombay and Madras High Court decisions on whether foreign law firms could open offices or practise in India.
Issue
Whether foreign law firms or lawyers may practise law in India.
Held
Foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in India, on the litigation or non-litigation side (para 44).
Principle
Foreign law firms and foreign lawyers cannot practise law in India, litigious or non-litigious; only a casual 'fly in and fly out' visit to advise on foreign law is allowed.
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Facts

  • Appeals arose from Bombay and Madras High Court decisions on whether foreign law firms could open offices or practise in India.

Issue

  1. Whether foreign law firms or lawyers may practise law in India.

Held

  • Foreign law firms or foreign lawyers cannot practise law in India, on the litigation or non-litigation side (para 44).
  • "Fly in and fly out" covers only a casual visit to advise on foreign law, not practice; the BCI decides disputes on this.
  • Foreign lawyers have no absolute right to conduct international commercial arbitration in India, though they may not be barred where institutional rules or the Arbitration Act permit, subject to the Indian code of conduct (para 45).
  • BPO firms are outside the Act only if their work is not, in substance, practice of law (para 46).

Ratio decidendi

Practice of law includes non-litigious work, and only advocates enrolled under the Act may engage in it.

Exam use

How to use it in an answer

  • Part A (6 marks): Cite for: practice of law includes non-litigation work; foreign lawyers cannot practise in India.
  • Part B (16 marks): Use in answers on the right to practise (S.29, 33) and law firms.
  • Key line for exam: "Foreign law firms/companies or foreign lawyers cannot practice profession of law in India either in the litigation or in non-litigation side."

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Citation

Bar Council of India v A.K. Balaji (2018) 5 SCC 379; AIR 2018 SC 1382

Reported: https://indiankanoon.org/doc/132041574/. This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.