The Bar Council of India (BCI) is the statutory body that regulates the legal profession and legal education in India. Established under the Advocates Act, 1961, the BCI sits at the apex of a two-tier regulatory structure: State Bar Councils admit advocates to the profession at the state level; the BCI at the national level sets standards, prescribes rules, and oversees the legal education and professional conduct frameworks.
**Key functions:** — Prescribe standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates. — Lay down procedures for disciplinary action against advocates for professional or other misconduct. — Safeguard the rights, privileges, and interests of advocates. — Promote and support law reform. — Organize legal aid. — Recognize universities whose law degrees qualify for enrolment; inspect law colleges. — Conduct the All India Bar Examination (AIBE).
**Rules of Professional Conduct.** The BCI Rules govern advocate conduct across a wide range of issues: relations with clients (duty of fidelity, confidentiality, avoiding conflicts), relations with the court (truthfulness, dignity, candour), relations with opposing counsel and the general public (dignified behaviour), and the prohibition on advertising / soliciting clients.
**Discipline.** Complaints against advocates for misconduct go to State Bar Council disciplinary committees in the first instance; appeals lie to the BCI's disciplinary committee, with a further appeal to the Supreme Court. The BCI can suspend or remove an advocate from the rolls.
**Contemporary relevance.** The BCI has been at the centre of many reform debates — entry of foreign law firms, regulation of legal technology, reforms to the AIBE, and the scope of advertising rules in the digital age.