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Polity & Governance
Mahesh

16/08/24 10:26 AM IST

Process for designating senior advocates

In News
  • The Supreme Court recently designated 39 lawyers, including 10 women, as senior advocates.
Senior Advocate
  • Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961 prescribes two different classes of advocates, “senior advocates and other advocates”.
  • The designation of senior advocate is “a mark of excellence to advocates who have distinguished themselves and have made a significant contribution to the development of the legal profession.
  • It identifies advocates whose standing and achievements would justify an expectation…that they can provide outstanding services as advocates in the best interest of the administration of justice.
  • Section 16 also states that senior advocates may be subject to certain additional restrictions. For those designated by the SC, these restrictions can be found in the Supreme Court Rules, 2013.
  • They are barred from filing a vakalatnama, appearing before a court without a junior or an advocate-on-record, doing drafting work, or directly accepting briefs for cases from clients.
Latest Guidelines
  • The Chief Justice of India, along with any other Supreme Court judge, can recommend in writing the name of an advocate for the designation.
  • The new guidelines prescribe the minimum age as 45 years to apply for the ‘senior advocate’ designation.
  • This age limit may, however, be relaxed by the Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates (more on that later), the CJI, or a Supreme Court judge, if they have recommended an advocate’s name.
  • No minimum age was prescribed under the 2018 guidelines.
  • Applicants for the designation are graded out of 100 marks, with new guidelines reserving only 5 marks in total for the “publication of academic articles, experience of teaching assignments in the field of law,” and “guest lectures delivered in law schools and professional institutions connected with law”.
  • Previously, 15 marks were set aside for publications.
  • On the other hand, the weightage given to reported and unreported judgements (excluding orders that do not lay down any principle of law) has increased from 40 to 50 points in the new guidelines.
  • The guidelines discouraged the system of ‘voting by secret ballot’, except in cases where it was “unavoidable”.
  • They also created a ‘Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates’ (henceforth, the Committee) which is chaired by the CJI and comprises the two senior-most SC judges, the Attorney General of India, and a “member of the Bar” nominated by the chair and other members.
  • The CJI or any other judge could recommend the name of an advocate for designation.
  • Alternatively, advocates could submit their applications to the ‘permanent secretariat’ (henceforth, the Secretariat), which would evaluate them on various criteria including years of legal practice as an advocate, district judge, or a judicial member of an Indian tribunal.
  • Prior to 2018, Section 16 of the Advocates Act, 1961, governed the appointment of senior advocates.
  • It stated that “There shall be two classes of advocates, namely, senior advocates and other advocates”, and allowed for a senior advocate designation “if the Supreme Court or a High Court” was of the opinion that by “virtue of his ability, standing at the Bar, or special knowledge or experience in law, he is deserving of such distinction.”
  • The Chief Justice and other judges made this designation.
  • The 2017 judgment made provisions for the establishment of the Secretariat, which would handle applications, publish proposals on the official website of the concerned court and invite suggestions, and subsequently forward applications to the Committee.
  • The Commitee would then interview a candidate, and make an overall evaluation based on a point system.
  • After approval, a candidate’s name would be forwarded to the Full Court to decide on the basis of the majority.
  • The Full Court could also recall the designation of a senior advocate.
Source- Indian Express

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