Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023: The Advocates (Amendment) Bill 2023 seeks to repeal the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 by incorporating its provisions into the Advocates Act, 1961.
Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal is set to introduce the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023 in the Rajya Sabha to amend the Advocates Act of 1961.
What is Legal Practitioners Act, 1879?
The Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 is an act that was enacted to consolidate and amend the law relating to legal practitioners. It provided that an Advocate or vakil on the roll of any high Court can practice in all the courts subordinate to the courts on the role of which he was entered.
According to this act, the High court was empowered to make rules consistent with the act as to suspension and dismissal of pleaders and mukhtars. Pleaders and Mukhtars were the Indian lawyers, but advocates were to be the barristers.
What is Advocates Act, 1961?
The Advocates Act, 1961 is an act passed by the Indian Parliament which provides for laws relating to legal practitioners in India and to provide for the constitution of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and state bar councils. The act replaced the Legal Practitioners Act, 1879.
Main features of Advocates Act, 1961
- The Advocates Act, 1961 consolidated existing laws on the legal profession and established the Bar Council of India and State Bar Councils.
- The act abolished the difference between a vakil and an advocate.
- An advocate cannot enrol under more than one State Council but can transfer from one state bar council to another.
- The act grants attorneys the right to practise in any area of the country, in any High Court, as well as at the Supreme Court of India.
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