Legal Language

(Part 1)
• Legal language refers to the specialized terminology, phrases, and
formats used in legal documents and communication to ensure
precise and clear understanding among legal professionals.
• Legal language is crucial as it ensures clarity, precision, and eliminates
ambiguity, thus facilitating accurate interpretation and enforcement
of laws, helping maintain order in legal proceedings.
• Logic: British Values
Bar and Bench:-
• The term "Bar" refers to the community of attorneys, advocates, and
legal practitioners who represent clients in legal proceedings.

• The term "Bench" refers to the judiciary or judges, who preside over
court proceedings and make rulings based on the law.
• Legal Profession
A) Meaning of Law
B) Meaning of Morality
- Difference between law and morality
A) Motive
B) Individual choice
C) Universal value vs relative concept
- Relation between Law and Morality
A) Devlin
B) Fuller
C) H.L.Hart
- Responsibilities and Importance of Legal Profession :-
A) Administration of Justice
B) Maintenance of Peace and Order
C) Law Reform
D) Legal Drafting
E) Social transformation
F) Legal Aid
- Importance of Legal Profession :-
A) John Gray
B) Oliver Holmes
C) Roscoe Pound
Evolution of Legal Profession
A) Legal Profession in Pre-British India
- Open arguments- procedure
- King’s Court
- The law in those days was rooted in religion and custom
- King on advice of religious head
- King can do no wrong
- Dharma System
- Mughal Period- Vakil
- Informal institution of legal profession
- The concept of Vakil
B) Legal Profession during British Period
- First British Court in Bombay in 1672
- George Wilcox
- Charter Act of 1726: Mayor's courts
- Charter of 1774: Supreme Court
- Indian High Courts Act, 1861
- Indian Bar Committee, 1923
C) Legal Profession after Independence
- All India Bar Committee, 1951
Advocates Act, 1961
- Under this act, there are only two classes of persons:
A) Advocate
B) Senior Advocate
The supreme court and high courts have been given the power to
designates an advocate as a senior advocates, if in their opinion, by
reason of his ability, experience and standing at the bar, he deserve
such distinction.
Two Exceptions
Bar:-
• Advocate- S. 2(a) “advocate” means an advocate entered in any roll
under the provisions of this Act.
• Senior Advocate
Advocates:
Sushma Suri v Govt. of National Capital Territory of
Delhi (1998)
• It has been held that an advocate shall not be a full time employee of any
person, Government, firm, corporation or concern. If such an employment
is taken up, then intimation shall be given to the concerned Bar Council
and the advocate shall cease to practice, as long as he remains in such
employment. However, an exception has been carved out for full time
salaried employees, such as, law officers of the Government or corporate
bodies, who have been employed to act and plead in court on behalf of
the employer. Such advocates, even if full time salaried employees,
would not cease to be advocates because they are in full time
employment. It has been held that the test is to see the terms of
engagement of the particular advocate and if he is engaged to act and
plead on behalf of the Government or corporate body, then he continues
to be an advocate for the purposes of this Act.
The Bar Council of India Training Rules, 1995
• The Bar Council of India Training Rules, 1995 have been enacted for the
benefit of the trainee advocates. A question fell for consideration before
the Supreme Court as to whether the experience of a 'trainee advocate as
defined therein, could be counted for that of a practicing advocate. The
Supreme Court in the case of V Sudeer v Bar Council of India, ruled that
under the Bar Council of India Training Rules, 1995, a trainee advocate had
only a limited right to ask for adjournment and mentioning case of his
guide. If a trainee advocate had only a limited right to ask for
adjournment and mentioning cases of his guide and had no right to
discharge all the functions and duties of advocate, the trainee advocate
was not a practicing advocate during the period of training and the
period spent as trainee advocate cannot be counted for experience as a
practicing advocate.
DESIRABLE AMENDMENTS
• The definition of practice is not confined to appearance in courts. It extends to
advice and appearance before arbitrators, tribunals or other statutory bodies or
other authorities before whom an advocate is entitled to practice or is otherwise
allowed to plead and act on behalf of the client.
• Many law firms do a lot of chamber practice, conveyancing and drafting.
Opinion work has increased enormously with the growth of the corporate
world, Industry, Banking, Insurance etc. With the globalization, liberalization and
privatization of the economy, the consultation practice i.e., giving opinions and
drafting of documents, has increased by leaps and bounds.
• With the advent of the IT revolution, legal advice, opinion and drafting of
documents has acquired a multinational dimension and the world has become
a global village, geographical boundaries have disappeared and therefore
professional advice can be obtained from any part of the world. Faxes, e-mails
etc. are available sources through which documents can be obtained as also
professional advice.
• Besides a large number of persons who are not advocates are
practicing law in arbitration matters before statutory tribunals, tax
authorities etc. on a regular basis and under s 29 of the Act, no
person other than an advocate practice law. Such persons are not
subject to or amenable to the disciplinary jurisdiction of the Bar
Council and/or not covered by the Advocates Act.
Definition of practice may be incorporated
• “Practice shall mean and include drafting of all types of documents,
commercial agreements, commercial deeds etc. opinion work, work in
the chambers, giving legal advice either in writing, orally or through
electronic devices and shall also include appearance before
arbitrators, statutory tribunals or other bodies which permit the
appearance of an authorized representative who pleads on a matter
of law before such authority”
Senior Advocate

A) Earlier System:-
- It was the total discretion of the full Court of the high court or of
Supreme Court as the case may be.
- So earlier all the applications for designations were circulated to
judges and those who received recommendation from at least five
judges were presented before the full Court for final voting.
- No minutes were prepared.
- The reason for rejecting the application was also not disclosed
B) MS Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India (2017):-
- Three-Judge Bench of Supreme Court Justices Ranjan Gogoi,
Rohinton Nariman & Navin Sinha had heard arguments and had very
clearly prescribed the parameters for designation of Advocates as
Senior Advocates.
- Jaising, herself a Senior Advocate, had argued that the system for
granting the designation, at the discretion of Judges of the High Courts
and Supreme Court is discriminatory and needs to be modified.
- Jaising also raised an argument that the practice violated Article 14
and 15 of the Constitution of India being arbitrary and discriminatory.
• The Supreme Court recognized the need for a more transparent
procedure and criteria for doing so.
• Procedure:-
A) Permanent Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates
composed of the Chief Justice, the two Senior-most Judges, the
Advocate General (for High Courts) or Attorney General (for the
Supreme Court) and an eminent member of the Bar nominated by the
other members of Bar
B) Applications for designation as a Senior Advocate would be received
by the Secretariat of the Permanent Committee, which will process the
applications and send a report to the Permanent Committee for
Designation of Senior Advocates
C) The proposal for designation is to be published by it on the official
website of the concerned court, inviting suggestions and views, which
shall then be forwarded to the permanent committee for scrutiny.
D) The Permanent Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates
has to then to interview the applicants and assess them based on the
factors:
i) Number of years of experience
 ii) Their contributions to Reported Judgments of the Courts
iii) the number of such Judgments in the last 5 years
iv) Publications by them
v) Test of personality and suitability
Vi) pro-bono work undertaken

- The Permanent Committee for Designation of Senior Advocates will

then select which applications are to be forwarded to the respective
Full Courts, which will then make the final decision.
- Unsuccessful applications can be resubmitted after two years.
- Recent Guidelines :-
The new guidelines prescribe the minimum age as 45 years to apply
for the ‘senior advocate’s designation.
Chapter I- Restrictions on Senior Advocates BCI Rules regarding Senior
advocates under S. 49, Part VI- Rules Governing Advocates
Senior Advocates shall, in the matter of their practice of the profession
of law mentioned in Section 30 of the Act, be subject to the following
restrictions:-
(a) A Senior Advocate shall not file a vakalatnama or act in any Court,
or before any person or other authority.
Explanation : “To act” means to file an appearance or any pleading or
application in any court or before any person or other authority
(B) He shall not involve in drafting pleading or affidavits, advice on
evidence or to do any drafting work of any kind in any Court or before
any person.
(C) He shall not accept directly from a client any brief or instructions to
appear in any Court or before any person or other authorities in India.