The Bar Council of India (BCI) has decided to permit foreign lawyers and law firms to practise in areas such as foreign law, international legal issues and arbitration matters. The BCI has added that this decision will be mutually beneficial for lawyers from India and abroad. 

With that objective, the apex Bar body has notified the Bar Council of India Rules for Registration and Regulation of Foreign Lawyers and Foreign Law Firms in India, 2022. 

The objects of the rules notified have said that the law practice in India will be opened for “foreign lawyers in the field of practice of foreign law; diverse international legal issues in non-litigious matters and in international arbitration cases would go a long way in helping legal profession grow in India to the benefit of lawyers in India too”. The BCI has added that this opening up will be restricted, well controlled and regulated to ensure that it is mutually beneficial for lawyers from India and abroad.

The rules have also stated that the areas of law practice by a foreign lawyer or foreign law firm shall be laid down by the BCI and “if need be, the Bar Council of India may consult the Government of India and the Ministry of Law and Justice in this regard”.a