Date:14/09/2006 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2006/09/14/stories/2006091418560900.htm

National

Another FDI: Bar Association

Legal Correspondent

Their entry will have serious ramifications for Indian judiciary

New Delhi: The All-India Bar Association (AIBA) has opposed the Centre's move to permit foreign law firms to enter the country and urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh not to entertain any such proposal.

In a memorandum sent to Dr. Singh, AIBA vice-chairman S. Prabhakaran said these firms would become another foreign direct investment, in the legal profession.

The move would have serious ramifications for the Indian judiciary and litigation would become costly.

The plea of certain vested interests at the Centre equating foreign law firms with chartered accountants could not be accepted. For, their jobs were not one and the same.

The AIBA said the influence of foreign companies with political parties and elected members of Parliament was seen in the cash-for-query scam, etc.

Under these circumstances, if foreign law firms were permitted to enter India, they would become subservient to foreign companies to promote a common object.

Moreover, the State and Central Governments could not deny the foreign firms judicial posts at a later stage.