A shortage of competition case law and competition lawyers, and a ‘highly politicised’ appointments process, could stall India’s progress towards liberalisation of professional services – despite the establishment of its first competition watchdog, an expert on the Indian legal market has warned.

Warsha Kalé, associate director and co-chair of the India group at City firm Berwin Leighton Paisner, said that last week’s launch of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) will take policy into ‘uncharted legal waters’.

Speaking at the first conference of the Law Society’s new competition section, Kalé said the commission will draw from English common law following a direction in a recent Indian court case: ‘There is a shortage of competition lawyers in India, and very little common law on competition to draw from.’

Kalé described the CCI appointments process as ‘highly politicised’, and that it will be the first time the new appointees will be ‘exposed to a new type of thinking’. However, the new chairman, Shri Dhanendra Kumar is ‘very active at an international level, and would bring a degree of independence’.

The CCI opened its doors on Thursday last week. The body has been set up as India’s legal market moves slowly towards liberalisation, following the passage of a bill allowing limited liability partnerships to be formed (see [2009] Gazette, 8 January, 1).

The CCI’s opening marks one of the first actions taken by India’s government since it was re-elected on 16 May.

Once fully constituted, the CCI will employ 300 lawyers, accountants, economists and civil servants. It has already received one complaint: mobile phone company Nokia has alleged a breach of public procurement laws by a state-run telecoms company.

Alison Hook, head of international at the Law Society, described the election result as ‘an encouraging sign for legal services’. ‘The new government looks set not only to continue but even to accelerate its ­economic reform efforts, and this can only benefit lawyers,’ she said.