Bar Council strengthens relationship with Indian Bar

20th June 2008:

A delegation of senior members of the Bar Association of the High Court, Bombay, has this week visited the UK, spending time at the Palace of Westminster and observing proceedings at the Royal Courts of Justice, where they have also attended seminars on Administrative Law, Intellectual Property Rights, Cross-Border Litigation and Human Rights, and participated in a wide range of meetings. The delegation will also visit Manchester’s civil courts.

The visit of the Bombay Bar Association, the first of its kind, which has been organised by the Bar Council in collaboration with a number of Specialist Bar Associations (SBAs) will increase mutual understanding and business networking with Indian lawyers, and focus on strengthening relationships with the SBAs, allowing the associations to develop stronger working links with the Bombay Bar Association. Other links, such as young lawyer placement schemes and advocacy training projects are also being developed.

Commenting on the visit of the delegation, Chairman of the Bar Tim Dutton QC said:

‘The Bar Council is very pleased to welcome the delegation from the Bombay Bar Association. As Chairman of the Bar, I have made it a priority this year to strengthen the Bar Council’s relationships with other Bars, to increase understanding of how the English and Welsh legal systems operate, especially with regard to commercial law. English common law has had a profound impact in India and the English Bar has been fortunate in developing a strong relationship with the Indian Bar. The visit of the Bombay Bar Association will help us to strengthen our relationships with the Indian legal profession, for example through placement schemes and advocacy training, and to develop opportunities for the two professions to work together particularly in commercial cases’.

The President of the Bombay Bar and leader of the visiting delegation, Mr Rafique Dada, commented:

‘We are very grateful for the warm welcome and hospitality extended to the delegation, and hope that new avenues will open up for the legal professionals of both countries to co-operate, which will contribute to the growth of business between the UK and the Indian sub-continent’.