Unit 4 of History of Courts, Legislature and Legal Profession (syllabus: Module IV — the Charter of 1600, the Charter Act 1833 and its three provisions, the Indian Councils Acts and the Minto-Morley reforms of 1909, the Government of India Acts 1919 and 1935, and the Indian Independence Act 1947; and the legal profession from the Charter of 1726 through the Regulating Act 1773, the Legal Practitioners Acts of 1846 and 1879, the High Courts Act 1861, the Chamier Committee and the Indian Bar Councils Act 1926, the All India Bar Committee 1951 and the Advocates Act 1961). Below: what the unit covers, the provisions it turns on, and the cases an examiner expects you to name.
What this unit covers
- Why is the Charter Act of 1833 called the watershed in Indian legal history?
- What did the Government of India Acts of 1919 and 1935 contribute to the growth of the legislature?
- How did the legal profession develop from 1726 to the Advocates Act 1961?
- Why was the Indian Bar Councils Act 1926 a half-measure, and what did the Advocates Act 1961 achieve?
- How did law reporting develop in India before 1875?
- What did section 3 of the Indian Law Reports Act 1875 actually do, and what did it fail to achieve?
- Who polices the advocate under the Advocates Act 1961, and how is the disciplinary committee constituted?
- What amounts to professional misconduct, and what procedure and appeals follow a complaint?
Treat that list as a self-test: recite each topic's rule from memory before you open its cases.
Provisions
- Charter Act of 1833, s. Section 53, on the Law Commission
- Indian Law Reports Act 1875, s. Section 3
- Advocates Act 1961, s. Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9
- Advocates Act 1961, s. Sections 35, 36, 36B, 37, 38, 42 and 44