Orissa State Bar Council in Cuttack. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Cuttack, Oct. 31: Orissa State Bar Council (OSBC) has decided to raise objection against the proposed Legal Practitioners (Regulation and Maintenance of Standards in Profession, Protecting of Interest of Clients and Promoting the Rule of Law) Act, 2010, during its two-day golden jubilee celebrations starting November 5.

The Union ministry of law and justice had proposed the act for establishment of a Legal Services Board on the lines of the Legal Services Board in the UK to suit the Indian situation. The OSBC believes that the proposed act would curtail powers of the bar councils and they “will be reduced to licensing authorities”. “The issue will be raised and a resolution opposing the proposed act will be passed during the golden jubilee celebrations,” said OSBC chairman Gopal Krushna Mohanty.

“We have decided to oppose the proposed act as it would enable formation of a legal services board consisting of a chairman, a member secretary and five members who would usurp the powers of the state bar councils,” Mohanty said.

The OSBC members were concerned that the proposed act would subjugate the provisions of the Advocates Act, 1961. “We are concerned that the board will appoint an ombudsman for each state to deal with complaints against lawyers, and thereby interfere with the freedom of the legal professionals,” said Manoj Mishra, a member of OSBC.

As part of the two-day golden jubilee celebrations, the state bar council has planned five seminar sessions on – Need of legal reforms: the role of lawyers in upholding the rule of law, Access to justice and constitutional safeguards, Need of reform in legal education, Environmental jurisprudence and Protecting human rights in an age of insecurity.

OSBC secretary J.K. Samantasinghar said participants of the seminars would include Ranbir Singh (vice-chancellor, National Law University, New Delhi), V. Sashtri (National Law University, Jodhpur), M.P. Singh (vice-chancellor, West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences) and R.Venkat Rao (vice-chancellor, National Law School, Bangalore).