All India Bar Examination
The All India Bar Examination (AIBE) was introduced by the Bar Council of India in 2010. A law graduate who enrols with a State Bar Council must pass it to obtain a Certificate of Practice from the BCI. It tests basic knowledge of core subjects and professional ethics, and is an open-book exam with multiple-choice questions.
Its validity was challenged on the ground that the Advocates Act does not mention a pre-practice exam. A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court upheld it in 2023, holding that the BCI may regulate the right to practise, and also allowed final-year students to take it before graduating.
Example
Although she enrolled with the Karnataka State Bar Council in August, she could not practise independently until she cleared the All India Bar Examination and received her certificate of practice.
In Indian law
- Section 7, Advocates Act, 1961 (functions of the Bar Council of India)
See also
Bar Council of India · advocate · bar
Read more in the study notes
- The Bar Council of India, the regulation of legal education and the five-year model (Legal Education and Research Methodology)
- Admission and enrolment of advocates (Professional Ethics)