BCI directive on foreign law degree

Indians obtaining a law degree from a foreign university, not recognised by the council, will not be granted an equivalence of the law degree issued by the Indian universities

Hyderabad: Starting academic session 2023-23, Indian nationals obtaining a law degree from a foreign university, not recognized by the Bar Council of India (BCI), will not be granted an equivalence of the law degree issued by the Indian universities. Such law degree holders will neither be eligible to appear in the qualifying examination nor enroll in the BCI or any State Bar Council.

“This is to notify that any law degree obtained by an Indian citizen from a foreign university, not recognized by the Bar Council of India, with effect from admissions taken from the academic session 2023-2024 will not be eligible to be equated to a corresponding law degree obtained from an Indian university and the Indian citizen will not be considered eligible to appear in the qualifying examination,” the BCI said in a notification on Tuesday.

The reason which BCI cited was that it was necessary to examine the details of courses, infrastructure, international scholarships and other requirements which were needed for an Indian student pursuing legal education in a foreign country.

For Indian nationals holding foreign law degrees for the purposes of equating such degree issued by the Indian university, and subject to further fulfilling prerequisites of enrolment as per Advocates Act, 1961, along with BCI and State Bar Council relevant rules for enrolment, they cannot be enrolled in India, it added.