Legal Ethics and Professional Conduct Questions and Answers

Answer: C

Only Conclusion II follows.

The Statement says Rule 20 of the Bar Council of India Rules categorically bars an advocate from stipulating for a fee contingent on the result of litigation or agreeing to share in its proceeds, and that a contravention exposes the advocate to proceedings under Section 35 of the Advocates Act, the section on punishment for professional or other misconduct. Conclusion II restates that consequence, so it follows.

Conclusion I contradicts the Statement. The bar is absolute and the Rule makes no exception for a client's written consent, so the client cannot waive it. That rules out 'both follow' and 'only Conclusion I', and 'neither follows' fails because Conclusion II is stated in the premise itself.

Answer: C

The committee has three members: two elected from the Council's membership and one co-opted advocate with the prescribed qualifications who is not a member of the Council.

Section 9(1) of the Advocates Act, 1961 requires a Bar Council to constitute one or more disciplinary committees, each of three persons, of whom two are elected by the Council from amongst its members and the third is co-opted by the Council from advocates who possess the qualifications in the proviso to Section 3(2) and are not members of the Council. Under Section 9(2), the senior-most advocate among them is the Chairman.

The five-member options misstate the size, and 'the most junior member serving as Chairman' reverses the rule.

Answer: B

The functions of the Bar Council of India are laid down in Section 7 of the Advocates Act, 1961. They include laying down standards of professional conduct and etiquette, safeguarding the rights and interests of advocates, promoting legal education and recognising universities whose law degrees qualify for enrolment.

Section 9 relates to disciplinary committees, and Section 15 to the power of State Bar Councils to make rules. Section 11 deals with another matter in the chapter on Bar Councils and committees, so it is not the section on the functions of the Council.

Answer: B

The constitution of committees other than disciplinary committees is dealt with in Section 10 of the Advocates Act, 1961, which provides for an executive committee and other committees of a State Bar Council.

Section 15 gives the Bar Councils the power to make rules, and Section 30 sets out the right of advocates to practise, so they do not concern the committees. Section 9 is the provision on the disciplinary committees, the exception named in the question, so the question points to the section about the other committees.

Answer: A

The constitution of a Special Committee in the absence of election is provided for in Section 8A of the Advocates Act, 1961, which was inserted by amendment to let a Bar Council function when elections have not been held in time.

Section 7 sets out the functions of the Bar Council of India, and Section 9 deals with disciplinary committees. Section 62 is a later provision of the Act and not a provision on this committee. The A-lettered section, inserted between 8 and 9, is the special-committee provision.

Answer: A

The provision on State Bar Councils is Section 3 of the Advocates Act, 1961, which provides for a Bar Council for each State and lays down its composition, including the Advocate-General as an ex officio member and elected members.

Section 2 is the definitions section, Section 5 provides that the Bar Councils are bodies corporate, and Section 6 sets out the functions of the State Bar Councils, not their constitution. Section 3 is therefore the provision on State Bar Councils.

Answer: B

The Bar Council of India was established under the Advocates Act, 1961, which was passed on the recommendation of the All India Bar Committee and consolidated the law on legal practitioners; Section 4 provides for the Bar Council of India.

There is no Advocates Act of 1965, 1971 or 1980. The Advocates Act, 1961 replaced the earlier Legal Practitioners Act, 1879 and the Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926.