SRINAGAR: The High Court of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh has directed the implementation of the All India Bar Examination (AIBE) requirements for advocates enrolled in the Union Territories of Jammu Kashmir and Ladakh, requiring eligible lawyers who have already qualified the examination to submit their Certificates of Practice within one month.
In a notification issued on October 10, 2026, the High Court said law graduates enrolled as advocates with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh who graduated in the academic year 2009–10 or later must qualify the AIBE if they have not already passed it.
The notification follows the approval of the High Court’s Full Court at its meeting on October 8, 2026, based on recommendations made by the Rules Committee at its meeting on August 19, 2026. The matter had been placed before the Chief Justice before being referred to the committee for consideration.
Under the notification, advocates enrolled with the Bar Council of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh after July 1, 2010, who have already qualified the AIBE must submit copies of their Certificates of Practice (COP), issued by the Bar Council of India, to the High Court Registry within one month of the notification’s issuance.
The High Court has also stipulated that fresh law graduates and advocates enrolled provisionally with the Bar Council will be granted an absolute certificate of enrolment only after qualifying the AIBE and producing the Certificate of Practice issued by the Bar Council of India within two years.
The directions are based on Rules 9, 10 and 11 of Chapter III, Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules governing the AIBE. Rule 9 provides that advocates enrolled under Section 24 of the Advocates Act, 1961, must pass the examination to be entitled to practise under Chapter IV of the Act. The requirement applies to law graduates from the academic year 2009–10 onwards who are enrolled as advocates.
Under the rules, the AIBE is conducted by the Bar Council of India to assess advocates’ knowledge of substantive and procedural law. The rules also permit candidates who fail the examination to reappear without any limit on the number of attempts.
Rule 11 provides for the issuance of a Certificate of Practice by the Bar Council of India to successful candidates within 30 days of the declaration of results.
The notification further states that the instructions and guidelines accompanying the application form for enrolment as an advocate have been amended to incorporate the AIBE requirements across both Union Territories.
