Legal Profession Needs Independent Body For Regulation of Fee and Ethics: Centre & SC

The Centre and the Apex Court are reportedly in favor of establishing an independent body for regulation of ethics in the legal profession.

As per an ET Report, at a recent meeting attended by the representatives from both sides, the need for regulation of professional fees was also recognized.

“Regulatory framework of the legal profession needs a review. There is need to regulate professional fee and ethics which can be done by an independent body instead of elected body of the Bar,” the minutes of the meeting reportedly stated.

During the meeting, the Department of Justice blamed the lack of a regulatory mechanism for the country's global position in the enforcement of business contracts and asserted that "unsatisfactory regulation of legal profession was an obstacle in improving India’s ranking in enforcement of contract parameters under the World Bank Doing Business report".

Various reports submitted by the Law Commission of India were also referred to, along with an emphasis on the difficulty caused to litigants on account of unruly lawyers boycotting work.

Further, in order to maintain the quality of services provided by lawyers, it was suggested that the Bar Council of India may introduce a mechanism for feedback by clients on advocates’ performance. A website was recommended to be made for this purpose, providing clients with a platform to communicate their experiences and grievances.