The permission to "fly in and fly out' bestowed on foreign lawyers by the Madras High Court is way forward towards _____.

Liberalising legal profession

The correct answer is Option (2) → Liberalising legal profession

Liberalization of the Legal Profession: There is an ongoing debate about the issue of liberalization of legal service sector in a growing economy. Given that India had signed the WTO Treaty in the 1990s leading to economic liberalization, it is also expected to liberalize the legal services sector under the GATTS (General Agreement on Trade and Services) and services negotiations under various free trade agreements/ economic partnership agreements. The Bar Council of India has consistently passed several resolutions between 2002 and 2007 opposing the opening up of the Indian legal profession to foreign lawyers or foreign law firms. In 2011, in a judgment delivered by the Bombay High Court on a public interest litigation (PIL) was filed by Lawyer's Collective, a non-profit organization, the High Court held that foreign law firms could not be permitted to set up liaison offices in India. Contrary to this position, the Madras High Court, in response to a PIL filed by A.K. Balaji, permitted foreign lawyers to practice in India on a "fly in and fly out" basis. The Law Commission of India, in a working paper in 1999, raised pertinent issues and concerns while recommending amendments to the Advocates Act to prepare a level-playing field for Indian lawyers. There is no resolution in sight regarding this issue.