Chennai: Madras high court has notified a fresh set of rules governing the designation of senior advocates, introducing minimum eligibility criteria, a structured application process and transparency in the selection process.The Rules for Designation of Senior Advocates by the High Court of Madras, 2026, were published in the state gazette on July 23 and will come into force immediately.As per the rules, an applicant must have at least 10 years’ standing as an advocate, or a combined standing of 10 years as an advocate and as a district and sessions judge or judicial member of a tribunal. The applicant should mainly practise before the high court or district courts and should have attained 45 years of age, unless the full court grants relaxation.
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An advocate whose application has been rejected by Supreme Court, Madras high court or any other high court within the preceding two years, or deferred within the previous year, will not be eligible to apply.The permanent committee, headed by the chief justice and comprising the two senior-most judges of the court, will invite applications for designation at least once a year through a public notification on its official website.A permanent secretariat will collect information regarding the applicant’s professional reputation, conduct and integrity, publish the names of applicants on the high court website and invite suggestions from the Bar Council, bar associations and other stakeholders before placing the dossiers before the full court.The full court will assess candidates on parameters including legal ability, standing at the Bar, specialised knowledge in law, professional ethics, integrity, mentoring of junior advocates and pro bono work. The rules also stipulate that advocates with criminal convictions involving moral turpitude, contempt of court or professional misconduct by the Bar Council will not qualify for designation.The rules permit the full court to designate an advocate even without an application in deserving cases, subject to the advocate’s consent. Decisions will ordinarily be taken by consensus, failing which they will be decided by majority, either through a show of hands or secret ballot, with reasons recorded for the mode of voting adopted.The high court has also prescribed a detailed application format requiring applicants to disclose reported and unreported judgments argued by them, pro bono and amicus curiae work, academic publications, teaching assignments, domain expertise, previous applications for designation, criminal cases, if any, and disciplinary proceedings before the bar council.
