Improved bilateral trade and investment for India-UK FTA are likely to increase the volume of cross-border transactions, drive the demand for legal services in the fields of mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and international dispute resolution, they said.
The trade agreement on the India-Kauc, signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modim 24, has gained several exceptions to Indian exporters in the UK and at the same time protected the interests of India.
Indian lawyers and legal companies were allowed to exercise international law in foreign jurisdictions, including Great Britain. But only in May the Indian Bar Association announced amended rules enabling foreign lawyers and law firms to practice international law in India, in regulated non -regulated units.
“Indian companies have long informed international clients across jurisdictions and CETA (India-UK comprehensive economic and business agreement) will not change this existing approach,” said Hemant Sahai, founding partner of HSA Advocates.
“Indian lawyers have always been entitled to practicing international law in the UK. Converse was not true. A real shift, if it exists, may be on the Indian side because CETA could potentially facilitate a greater approach to British law firms in the Indian market,” Sahai said.
Ayush Mehrotra, a partner of Khaitan & Co., said that because it is expected that the agreement on India-UK will strengthen trade and investment, there will be increased demand for legal services related to cross-border activities.
“Indian companies specialize in the rights of enterprises, mergers and acquisitions (mergers and acquisitions), intellectual property, international arbitration and international trade will be well placed to serve clients involved in these transactions,” said Mehrotra.
Increased trade and investment between the two nations also increase the possibility of disputes and creates an opportunity for Indian arbitration lawyers and arbitrators, said Shashank Garg, higher defenders and arbitration council.
“Given that it is a common standard for such agreements and contracts in the arbitration prescription, as their preferred dispute resolution mechanism can bring much more work for an Indian arbitration physician, allegedly institutions based in India and qualified arbitrators,” Garg said.
The principle of reciprocity
Policy experts said that Indian laws for foreign lawyers and lawyers, built into the recent changes of the Council of the Council, are protectionist. Foreign legal companies are not sure that they come to India on the basis of strict rules of “flying, fly-out” and a limited range of practice, Mint reported May 23.
The new BCI rules require foreign lawyers to disclose the time, purpose and nature of legal work every time they visit the country.
Reciprocity of market access is a key feature of bilateral trade and investment agreements, policy experts said.
“The principle of Reciprocity is more in the spirit than in full equivalence (in the India-UK agreement),” said Bhardwaj, executive secretary, Indian National Association of Legal Experts. “India still maintains restrictions on foreign law firms that practice on the domestic market, while the United Kingdom has a more liberal approach.”
However, Bhardwaj said that the India-UK agreement was a step towards the market approach. “CETA creates a structure in which mutual access can be expanded over time, especially if India continues to explore the gradual liberalization in legal services,” he said.
The Indian business agreement on the UK also has a provision in which both countries agree to work on mutual recognition agreements, which have the potential to streamline access to the market for both nations, Mint said.
“Without an agreement on the mutual recognition of qualifications and licenses, Indian lawyers can still face regulatory obstacles to practicing the United Kingdom or integration into British companies,” Bhardwaj said.
At the same time, the commercial agreement promises “increased mobility” for experts from both nations.
“Improved mobility will simplify visa procedures and liberalize categories of inputs for professionals, including lawyers who benefit persons with short -term tasks or advisory roles,” said Mehrotra of Khaitan and Co.
(Tagstotranslate) India-UK FTA Legal Services (T) India-UK Free Trade Agreement Law Firms (T) Cross-Border Legal Practice India UK (T) International Arbitration India UK (T) Commercial Contracts India-UK (T) M&A India-UK (T) Foreign Law Firms India (T) Bar Council of India Foreign Lawyers (T) Legal Market Access India-UK (T) India Trade Deal LEGAL Consuming (T) The impact of India FTA on the legal sector
