The Hindu Business Line : India, UK will take up legal market access issues next month

London March 28 The legal services market access talks between India and the UK is likely to take off, with the Bar Council of India entering the fray and set to partake in the discussions for the first time in April this year.

The entry of Bar Council of India in the discussions is likely to toughen negotiations for mutual liberalisation of the legal services markets. This is because the Bar Council has been opposing the entry of foreign lawyers into India.

The Bar Council is the regulatory body of the legal profession in India. Currently, foreign firms are not authorised to practice in India.

The legal services talks are being held under the aegis of the India-UK Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO), which was put in place few years ago.

The JETCO had set up a mechanism to examine the requirements of non-practice legal advisory services for enhancing trade and investments.

The UK side has already made it clear that the legal community there was not looking to appear in Indian courts, but were keen to provide advisory services to the international companies based in India.

"We don't want to appear in Indian courts," Mr Christian Wisskirchen, International Relations Manager, The General Council of the Bar of England and Wales, told select group of visiting Indian journalists.

Expert group

Although an expert group was formed under JETCO to discuss legal services issues, Ms Alison Hook, Head of International, The Law Society of England and Wales, highlighted that the Indian side was represented mostly by private individuals (legal experts) and not by bodies such as the Bar Council of India.

"It was not balanced. So we suggested to the Commerce and Industry Ministry of India that Bar Council of India should take part in the discussions. They agreed. The next round of discussions will happen in April, with the participation of the Bar Council of India," she said.

The Law Society is the regulatory body of solicitors, who number about 1,10,000 in the UK. With Indian rules prohibiting foreign firms from setting up offices in India, Ms Hook underscored the need for India to go in for legislative change to modernise this bit (legal services) of the economy.

"Allowing foreign firms to establish office in India would be a great advantage for the Indian legal market. Because the Indian market is closed, the firms cannot expand. They cannot attain international profile. Advertising is also restricted," she said.

She also said that foreign lawyers (including those from India) could set up office in the UK and practice, but would have to clear one paper (issues relating to ethics, money laundering etc).

It was also maintained that concerns on immigration were not well founded and that more than 90 per cent of the applicants have been allowed to come into the UK.

Ms Hook called for clarifications on what foreign firms can do in the area of legal process outsourcing so that this activity could reach its full potential.

More Stories on : Courts/Legal Issues | Foreign Trade

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page