What are the functions of Provincial Bar Council?

The Council is responsible for regulating the legal profession and practice of law in Sindh. It
maintains the roll of advocates licensed to practice law in the province of Sindh and is
responsible for admitting new members to the bar.
The Council also constitutes a tribunal which conducts trials of alleged misconduct and
professional negligence committed by advocates on its roll.
The Pakistan Bar Council exercises general control and supervision over the Provincial /ICT Bar
Councils and regulate the entry of lawyers into the legal
profession. The main functions of the Bar Council are to admit persons, fulfilling the
requirements of law, as Advocates entitled to practice before the
Supreme Court of Pakistan and to maintain Roll of such Advocates and to remove advocates
from the said Roll. It also enjoys powers to entertain and determine
cases of professional and other misconduct against Advocates of the Supreme Court and to
award punishment in such cases. Some of the functions of the Pakistan Bar Council, under the
above said Act, are:-
(a) to prepare and maintain a common roll of advocates;
(b) to admit persons as advocates entitled to practice before the Supreme Court and to prepare
and maintain a roll of such advocates and to remove advocates from such roll;
(c) to entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates of the Supreme Court and
to award punishment in such cases;
(d) to lay down standard of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates;
(e) to lay down the procedure to be followed by its committees;
(f) to safeguard the rights, privileges and interest of advocates including initiation of measures
for fair and inexpensive dispensation of justice by the subordinate Courts and tribunals;
(g) to promote and suggest law reform;
(h) to exercise general control and supervision over the Provincial /ICT Bar Councils and to issue
directions to them from time to time;
(i) to promote legal education and to prescribe standards of such education in consultation with
the Universities in Pakistan and the Provincial /ICT Bar Councils;
(j) to recognize universities whose degree in law shall be a qualification for enrollment as an
advocate;
(k) to provide free legal aid;
(l) to hold conferences, seminars, moots lectures, jurist conferences and other meetings for
promoting legal knowledge and learning in the legal profession;
(m) to prescribe conditions for the recognition and functioning of, and to recognize and
derecognize, the Supreme Court Bar Association or any Bar Association at the national level;
(n) to give directions to the Provincial /ICT Bar Councils in respect of the recognition,
derecognizing and functioning of Bar Associations;
The Pakistan Bar Council also enjoys Appellate jurisdiction against decisions of the Provincial
/ICT Bar Councils in respect of (i) grant and/or rejection of enrollment of Advocates of High
Courts and Courts subordinates thereto; and (ii) the disciplinary matters of Advocates and the
decisions of the Supreme Court Bar Association or any other Bar Association at the national
level.
As the Pakistan Bar Council function through its several Committees, it has constituted the
following standing Committees on different subjects:-
(1) Executive Committee
(2) Legal Education Committee
(3) Enrollment Committee
(4) Disciplinary Committee
(5) Disciplinary Tribunal Committee
(6) Law Reforms Committee
(7) Finance Committee
(8) Rules Committee
(9) Free Legal Aid Committee
(10) Appeal Committee (Punjab-I)
(11) Appeal Committee (Punjab-II)
(12) Appeal Committee (K.P.K)
(13) Appeal Committee (Sindh)
(14) Appeal Committee (Baluchistan)
(15) Appeal Committee (ICT)
(16) Co-ordination Committee
(17) Library Committee
(18) Human Rights Committee
(19) International Relations Committee
(20) Privileges Committee
The Enrollment Committee, Disciplinary Committee and the Disciplinary Tribunal mentioned at
No. (3), (4) and (5) above are headed by the Honorable serving judges of the Supreme Court of
Pakistan.
The Pakistan Bar Council also has the Rule making power to provide for
(1) the standards of professional conduct and etiquette to be observed by advocates;
(2) the standards of legal education to be observed by universities in Pakistan and the
inspection of universities for that purpose;
(3) the circumstances in which and the conditions subject to which nationals of any foreign
country may be admitted as advocates and foreign qualifications may be recognized for
purposes of their admission;
(4) the procedure to be followed by Tribunals constituted by the Pakistan Bar Council in
inquiries relating to the conduct of an advocate;
(5) the general principles for guidance of the Provincial /ICT Bar Councils;
(6) the forming recognition, derecognition and functioning of a Supreme Court Bar Association
or any Bar Association at the national level;
(7) the manner in which the election of members and Vice-Chairman of Bar Councils shall be
held;
(8) the summoning and holding of meetings of the Pakistan Bar Council, the times and places
where such meetings are to be held, the conduct of business there at and the number
necessary to constitute a quorum;
(9) the constitution and functions of any committee of the Pakistan Bar Council and the term of
office of the members of any such committee;
(10) the form and manner in which applications for admission as an advocate of the Supreme
Court are to be made and the manner in which such applications are to be disposed of;
(11) the forms in which a certificate of enrollment shall be given to a person enrolled as an
advocate or an advocate of the High Court (or an advocate of the Supreme Court)
Acts & Rules for Pakistan Bar Council;
1- LEGAL PRACTITIONERS AND BAR COUNCILS ACT, 1973
2- PAKISTAN LEGAL PRACTITIONERS AND BAR COUNCILS RULES, 1976
3- PAKISTAN BAR COUNCIL APPEAL RULES, 1986
4- PAKISTAN BAR COUNCIL FREE LEGAL AID RULES, 1999
5- PAKISTAN BAR COUNCIL LEGAL EDUCATION RULES, 2015
6- PAKISTAN BAR COUNCIL EMPLOYEES SERVICE RULES, 2009
7- PAKISTAN BAR COUNCIL EMPLOYEES PENSION RULES, 2015
8- SUPREME COURT BAR ASSOCIATION OF PAKISTAN RULES, 1989
What are the qualifications for admission as an advocate?
(a) Every Applicant applying for admission as an Advocate shall have to pass a written
examination in addition to Viva-Voce Examination, held quarterly under the directions and
supervision of the Legal Education Committee of the Council pertaining to the following
subjects with upto date amendments:-
i) Civil Procedure Code 1908.
ii) Criminal Procedure Code 1898/ Pakistan Penal Code 1860.
iii) Qanoon-e-Shahadat 1984.
iv) Limitation Act 1908.
v) Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973.
vi) Legal Practitioners and Bar Councils Act, 1973 and Rules 2002.
(b) Every Applicant applying for admission as an Advocate shall have to pass a written
examination before his Viva-Voce Examination. The Applicant shall have to pass written
examination in maximum four attempts spread over a maximum period of two and a half years.
(c) If the Applicant fails to pass the written examination within the period stipulated
hereinabove, he shall not be entitled to appear in any examination and he shall not be entitled
to be enrolled as an Advocate.
(d) On such failure of the Applicant as stated herein above, the Bar Council shall inform all other
Bar Councils of the Country within a week of such result about the particulars and result of the
Applicant and such an Applicant shall not be entitle to appear in any examination in any other
Council.
(e) The Legal Education Committee shall be responsible for holding written examination,
appoint Examiners for evaluating the answer book and compiling the result. Provided that the
result of the written examination shall be declared within a period of fortnight and the result
will be intimated to the Applicant / Candidate through Registered Post at the given address and
affix on the notice Board of the Council.
(f) The written examination shall initially be held at Karachi and at such other centres as may be
notified by the Legal Education Committee.