Why the Bar exam is a must for lawyers
Legal experts are of the view that the AIBE, which is meant to ensure maintenance of standards in the legal profession, is encouraging a lot of students to take study of law more seriously.
It has been four years since the Bar Council Of India started the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) for law graduates and its result has been quite positive. Legal experts are of the view that the AIBE, which is meant to ensure maintenance of standards in the legal profession, is encouraging a lot of students to take study of law more seriously.
Says Biri Singh Sinsinwar, chairman, Bar Council of India, “I feel that now when students take up the study of law seriously now that they know that they cannot practice law in any Indian court until and unless they clear the AIBE. It has certainly raised the standards of legal education in India.”
Held biannually, the AIBE was started when the Supreme Court, during the course of hearing a matter related to the affiliation of a college with the Bar Council of India, expressed concern over the low standards of legal education in India.
The apex court constituted a three-member committee under the chairmanship of senior lawyer Gopal Subramanium which recommended that “qualifying a bar examination should be made a requirement prior to admission to the Bar by all State Bar Councils across the country.”
“Agreeing to the committee’s proposal, the Supreme Court made it mandatory for every law graduate to clear the test before practising law. So today when a student completes his LLB, the first thing he/she needs to do is to get enrolled with the concerned State Bar Council and then apply for AIBE,” says Sinsinwar.
The exam, which is held in 40 cities all across India, covers the same subjects as are prescribed by the Bar Council of India for the three-year and five-year LLB programmes at law schools in the country.
According to Bhoje Gowda, vice-chairman, Bar Council of India, “The purpose is to test the reasoning and analytical ability of a student using multiple choice questions and not the ability to memorise big answers. A student gets four chances to clear the exam. Once a student clears the examination, he/she is awarded Certificate of Practice by the Council.”
But what if a student fails to make it in all four attempts?
Answers Gowda, “In the last four years, we haven’t come across any such situation but the question is under consideration with the officer bearers of the Bar Council Of India,”
Students can get all the details related to the exams from the website www.allindiabarexamination.com
Today when a student completes his LLB, the first thing he/she needs to do is to get enrolled with the concerned State Bar Council and then apply for the all india bar exam --- Biri Singh Sinsinwar, chairman, bar council of india
