How to Become a Supreme Court Lawyer
2015-10-09Lately I have come across the query - "How does one become a Supreme Court Lawyer?".
The Bar Council of India (BCI) has come out with new Certificate of Practice and Renewal Rules, 2014 that prohibit an advocate from starting to practise in the Supreme Court unless they have practised for
- at least two years in a trial court and
- three years in a high court in India.
In light of these new rules from now the certificate of practice needs to be renewed every five years. This is to be done by filing an application with the relevant state bar council six months in advance from the date of expiry of the certificate.
According to a recent report in the Economic Times, the reasons of the new certificate of practice rules states "There is an urgent need for laying down some conditions for practising law in different courts so as to give due weightage and credence to experience. Before an advocate could practice law in higher courts, there is need that he is exposed to real court experience in lower courts/trial courts. This will help in integrating the whole judicial system from the perspective of the bar".
Currently all categories of advocates are allowed to appear before the Supreme Court. However, only Supreme Court Advocates On Record (AOR) are eligible appear, act and plead for a litigant before this court. An AOR is an advocate who has cleared the Supreme Court AOR exam. Note that to be eligible to attempt AOR, an advocate needs to have practised in the chambers of a Supreme Court AOR for at least five years.
In 2013, Supreme Court had banned the advocates enrolled for less than one year from appearing before the Supreme Court.
The new issued rule will help fresher advocates in learning the ropes from lower and high court and will make them understand courts functioning.
About the blogger: Tarun is a Co-founder at MyExamPlan.com. He can be reached at tarun@myexamplan.com
Other Helpful Resources:
FAQ on Law as a career after 12th
Law Entrance Exams – Eligibility, Pattern, Syllabus
B.Tech Biotechnology vs B.Sc Biotechnology
A Career in Mathematics after Class XII
5 Reasons Why You Should Study Design
Cracking design school entrance exams
Check out more than 25 Design Entrance Exams
How to Prepare for Entrance Exams
Identifying Career Opportunities through Entrance Exams