Practice

Practice of Law in other Jurisdiction

SCOPE
This research will provide a general description of the different practices of
law in other jurisdiction. It will further discuss the variation legal education and
legal practice in countries located in the Southeast Asia, more specifically, Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, which are
known to have diverse history, culture, government, and religious beliefs.

What is Practice of Law?
In American setting, the practice of law is defined as follows:
Whoever,
(1) In a representative capacity appears as an advocate or draws papers, pleadings
or documents, or performs any act in connection with proceedings pending or
prospective before a court or a body, board, committee, commission or officer
constituted by law or having authority to take evidence in or settle or determine
controversies in the exercise of the judicial power of the state or any subdivision
thereof; or
(2) For a consideration, reward or pecuniary benefit, present or anticipated, direct
or indirect, advises or counsels another as to secular law, or draws or procures or
assists in the drawing of a paper, document or instrument affecting or relating to
secular rights; or
(3) For a consideration, reward or pecuniary benefit, present or anticipated, direct
or indirect, does any act in a representative capacity in behalf of another tending to
obtain or secure for such other the prevention or the redress of a wrong or the
enforcement or establishment of a right; or
(4) As a vocation, enforces, secures, settles, adjusts or compromises defaulted,
controverted or disputed accounts, claims or demands between persons with
neither of whom he is in privity or in the relation of employer and employee in the
ordinary sense. 1
The celebrated case of Cayetano v. Monsod provided for a liberal definition of the
practice of law. In the decision of Justice Paras, it states:
1 CODE OF ALABAMA TITLE 34. PROFESSIONS AND BUSINESSES. CHAPTER 3. ATTORNEY-AT-LAW

“Practice of law means any activity, in or out of court, which requires the
application of law, legal procedure, knowledge, training and experience. "To
engage in the practice of law is to perform those acts which are characteristics of
the profession. Generally, to practice law is to give notice or render any kind of
service, which device or service requires the use in any degree of legal knowledge
or skill."

While on the same case, a dissenting opinion of Justice Padilla states:

“What constitutes practice of law? As commonly understood, "practice" refers to
the actual performance or application of knowledge as distinguished from mere
possession of knowledge; it connotes an active, habitual,repeated or customary
action. 1 To "practice" law, or any profession for that matter, means, to exercise or
pursue

an

employment

or

profession actively,

habitually,

repeatedly or customarily.”

Practice of Law connotes different definition, different perspective and different
requirement from different legal experts and luminaries all over the world.

Who may Practice Law?

In the Philippines, the practice of law is regulated exclusively by the
Supreme Court of the Philippines. No distinction exists between lawyers who give
legal advice (e.g., solicitors) and those who provide legal representation in court
(e.g., barristers), as anybody who wishes to practice law must meet the
requirements provided in the Rules of Court.

While admission to the practice of law is the sole prerogative of the Supreme
Court, the accreditation of law schools falls within the competence of the Legal
Education Board. In any case, to be able to take up law, one must first complete “a
bachelor’s degree in arts or sciences with any of the following subjects as major or
field of concentration: political science, logic, English, Spanish, history and
economics.”2 These majors are, however, merely directory and not mandatory, as
one can gain admission to a duly accredited law school, provided his or her
bachelor’s degree meets the minimum requirements of the admitting law school.
To be eligible to take the bar examinations, a candidate must complete courses in
“civil law, commercial law, remedial law, criminal law, public and private
international law, political law, labor and social legislation, medical jurisprudence,
taxation and legal ethics”.3

After successfully completing the requisite number of course units towards
the awarding of a law degree, a candidate can file an application to take the bar

2 RULES OF COURT, Rule 138, § 6.
3 RULES OFCOURT, Rule 138, §5

examinations, provided he or she is“a citizen of the Philippines, at least twenty-one
years of age, of good moral character, and a resident of the Philippines”.
The bar examinations are held once a year in the City of Manila, over a
period of four (4) days, with the first day being devoted to Political and
International Law (morning) and Labor and Social Legislation (afternoon); the
second day, to Civil Law (morning) and Taxation (afternoon); the third day, to
Mercantile Law (morning) and Criminal Law (afternoon); and the fourth day, to
Remedial Law (morning) and Legal Ethics and Practical Exercises (afternoon). For
the first three days, the relative weight of each morning subject is 15 per cent,
while that of each afternoon subject is 10 per cent; on the last day, the relative
weights of the morning and afternoon subjects are 20 per cent and 5 per cent,
respectively.
To pass the bar examinations, a candidate must obtain “a general average of
75 per cent in all subjects, without falling below 50 per cent in any subject.” The
successful candidate is entitled to take the oath of office, receive his or her
certificate of membership to the Philippine Bar, and, finally, sign the roll of
attorneys admitted to practice. Only then does the passer of the bar examinations
officially become a lawyer and can use the title of “Attorney”.
Once admitted to the practice of law, a lawyer must remain in good standing
in order to maintain such practice. This includes being a member of and paying the
yearly dues to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines 4(“IBP”), evidence of which is
reflected in the IBP official receipt number which must be stated in all pleadings,
4 RULESOFCOURT, Rule 139-A, §9.

motions and papers signed and filed by lawyers before Philippine courts. 5The
consequences of using an outdated IBP official number include the court not acting
upon said pleading, motion or paper and disciplining the non-complying lawyer. In
extreme cases, the use of an expired IBP official receipt number can lead to the
dismissal of a case.
Besides maintaining membership in the IBP, a practicing lawyer must also
comply with the requirements on Mandatory Continuing Legal Education 6
(“MCLE”), which entails completing “every three (3) years at least thirty-six (36)
hours of continuing legal education activities approved by the MCLE Committee”,
unless exempt. As with the IBP official receipt number, practicing members of the
bar are required to indicate the number and date of issue of their MCLE Certificate
of Compliance “in all pleadings filed before the courts or quasi-judicial bodies”.
The practice of law is reserved exclusively to Philippine citizens who have
completed the requisite coursework at a duly accredited Philippine law school, and
have passed the bar examinations. There were two exceptions to the citizenship
and education requirement, but due to the passage of time, these may no longer
apply.
Under the first exception, United States citizens who, before July 4, 1946,
were licensed to practice before Philippine courts, are able to continue such
practice. Under the second exception, Philippine citizens who were “enrolled
attorneys in good standing in the Supreme Court of the United States or in any
5 Supreme Court Circular No. 10 (July 24, 1985).
6 See Bar Matter No. 850 (Aug.22, 2000)

circuit court of appeals or district court therein, or in the highest court of any State
or Territory of the United States”, having practiced at least five years in any of said
courts prior to July 4, 1946, could be admitted without examination, even if they
completed their legal studies overseas.
Consequently, foreign lawyers cannot engage in the practice of law in the
Philippines, and must be represented by a member of the Philippine Bar in all
matters connected with such practice.
Requirements to practice law varies on every jurisdiction, variation may be caused
by different culture, history or religion.

BRUNEI
Legal Qualifications
A person that would qualify for admission to practice as an advocate and
solicitor in Brunei Darussalam must possess one of the following requirements:
(i) He is a barrister-at- law of England, Northern Ireland or he must be a member
of the Faculty of Advocates of Scotland; or
(ii) He is a solicitor in England, Northern Ireland or a Writer to the Signet, law
agent or solicitor in Scotland; or
(iii) He has been in active practice as an advocate and solicitor in Singapore or in
any part of Malaysia; or
(iv) He possesses the Certificate of Legal Practice issued by the Qualifying Board
pursuant to section 5 of the Legal Profession Act 1976 of Malaysia; or

(v) He possesses a degree in law conferred by the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa
in Malaysia.
Furthermore, he must also be either a Brunei national or a person to whom a
residence permit has been granted under regulations made under the Immigration
Act7. If a person is not a Brunei national or no residence permit has been granted
to him, he can only apply for admission if (along with having the academic
requirements mentioned above) he has in active practice in any part of the United
Kingdom, Singapore, Malaysia, or in any other country or territory of the
Commonwealth designated by the Attorney General for at least 7 years
immediately preceding his application. Admission is at the Chief Justice’s
discretion and he shall further take into consideration the following criteria: (i) if
the applicant has attained the age of 21 years; (ii) if he is of good character; (iii) if
he has served satisfactorily his required period of pupilage as prescribed by the
Pupillage Rules.8
PRACTISIONERS

7 See Part III, Immigration Act (CAP 17)
8 Under the Pupillage Rules 2000, a pupil shall serve a period of pupilage with a
qualified person who has been practicing for not less then 7 years for a period of 9
months. A qualified person can be exempted by the Chief Justice from any part of
his pupilage (not more than 6 months) looking at special circumstances, if he has
been a pupil of a master who is a barrister at law in England and Northern Ireland or
a member of the Faculty of Advocates of Scotland or of an advocate and solicitor in
Singapore or Malaysia practicing for not less than 7 years. He can also be exempted
if the is or has been a solicitor in England and Northern Ireland, or a Writer of the
Signet, law agent or solicitor in Scotland or he has been engaged in legal practice
for not less than 6 months in any Commonwealth country or territory

All advocates and solicitors that have been admitted to practice have the
exclusive right to appeal and plead in all the courts of justice in Brunei
Darussalam.
The application process
All application for admission to become an advocate and solicitor shall be
made by petition to the Chief Justice and shall be verified by affidavit. The
petitioner shall first file his petition at the Chief Registrar’s office, accompanied by
a notice intimating that he applied. A notice shall be posted at the Supreme Court
for one month before the petitioner is heard to be admitted.
A month before the petitioner is heard, he shall file an affidavit exhibiting
documentary evidence which he states that he is qualified, if he has been practicing
law outside Brunei, evidence that there has been no disciplinary proceedings
pending or contemplated against him and that his professional conduct was not
under investigation. He would also need to show recent certificates as to his good
character and a certificate of diligence from each Master with whom he served his
pupilage. The court may also request for other information or evidence as it may
require. These documents would then be filed by the Chief Registrar and within 5
days after, they shall be served on the Attorney General and upon any other
relevant persons.
After the application is heard and once the petitioner is admitted, his name
would be entered into the roll. The Chief Registrar keeps a roll of advocates and
solicitors’ names with the dates of their respective admission. The name with the
date of admission of every person admitted shall be entered upon the roll in order
of admission.

Every advocate and solicitor is responsible for deliver to the Chief Registrar
an application for a Practicing Certificate every year before he does any act in the
capacity of an advocate and solicitor. The application shall be accompanied by a
declaration in writing by the applicant stating his full name, the name under which
he practices or the name of the advocate and solicitor or the firm of advocates and
solicitors employing him at which he practice in Brunei Darussalam. If he is not a
Brunei Darussalam national or does not have a residence permit, he must also state
that during the period in respect of which his immediately preceding practicing
certificate was issued, he had been in active practice in Brunei Darussalam for at
least 3 months in aggregate if it was his first Practicing Certificate or at least 9
months in the aggregate in any other case. All applicants are also required to pay a
prescribed fee to obtain the Practicing Certificate.
Once the Chief Registrar is certain that the applicant’s name is on the roll,
and is satisfied with all the accompanying documents the applicant has provided,
he shall issue to the applicant the practicing certificate which will authorize him to
practice an as advocate and solicitor in Brunei Darussalam. Every Practicing
Certificate shall be signed by the Chief Registrar and shall have effect from the
beginning of the day of which it bears the date and shall expire at the end of the
next 31st December. The Practicing Certificate can however also expire once the
name of the advocate and solicitor is struck off the roll or where he is adjudicated
as bankrupt. In such a case, his Practicing Certificate will be suspended until the
Chief Justice consents to it being reinstated.
Ad- hoc admission

A judge has the discretion to admit into practice for the purpose of one case
only any person who is not an ordinary resident of Brunei Darussalam but intends
to come to Brunei Darussalam to appear in a case on the instructions of an
Advocate and Solicitor. In such cases, he must be Her Britannic Majesty’s Patent
as Queen’s Counsel and also must possess such special skill and qualifications for
the purpose of the case whether or not such special skill and qualifications are
available in Brunei Darussalam. A judge can also admit at his discretion for similar
purposes, a person who is entitled to practice before the High Court in Malaysia,
Singapore or Hong Kong or in any other Commonwealth country the Chief Justice
may specify providing that he has not been admitted under this circumstance in
respect of more than two other cases in the current calendar year.
Any person applying to be admitted on an ad hoc basis shall do so by
originating motion verified by an affidavit stating the names of the parties and the
brief particulars of the case he intends to appear in. The originating motion and the
affidavit shall be served on the Attorney General and to the other parties to the
case. The Judge prior to deciding to admit or not would usually first seek the views
of each of the persons served with the application (originating motion).
Chief Registrar shall then issue to any person admitted on an ad hoc basis a
certificate to practice which would specify the case the person is to appear in. This
person is deemed to be a person whose name is on the roll and to whom a
practicing certificate has been given to. However, his name would not be entered in
the roll of names but will enter into a separate roll for such persons who are
admitted on an ad-hoc basis.
Provisional admission

Advocates and solicitors can also be admitted provisionally prior to their
application being heard. The Chief Justice may after the petitioner has served his
petition, verifying affidavit and accompanying exhibits, provisionally admit him to
practice as an advocate and solicitor subject to any conditions that the Chief Justice
may impose.
Upon receiving payment of the prescribed fee, the Chief Justice will issue to
every person admitted provisionally a provisional license to practice specifying in
it any terms and conditions he has imposed. Such persons shall be entitled to
practice as an advocate and solicitor as if their names were on the roll and as if a
practicing certificate has been issued to them. However, the Chief Justice has the
discretion to revoke a provisional license at any time. Otherwise, a provisional
license expires on the date of the final determination of admission or when a
petition has been withdrawn for such person. Similar to ad-hoc cases, provisional
persons’ names shall be kept on a separate roll.
Other qualified practitioners
A person employed in his professional capacity as an advocate and solicitor
with the Government or an approved legal department of a company incorporated
in Brunei Darussalam under the Companies Act which has been designated by the
Attorney General can also qualify to be practicing in Brunei Darussalam providing
he pays for the prescribed fee to a practicing certificate. Furthermore, any person
who holds the office of Attorney General, Solicitor General or Deputy Public
Prosecutor also shares the rights of a qualified advocate and solicitor for as long as
they continue to hold such office. To qualify to use the title of “consultant”, one
needs to have been either an advocate or solicitor in continuous practice for a
period of not less than 10 years.

Hearing and the right of appeal
All petitions and originating motions are held in open court. Any appeals
from any judgment or court order on any petition or originating motion lie to the
Court of Appeal. The appeal can either be initiated by the petitioner himself or it
could be initiated by the Attorney General or any other person that has been served
with the petition or originating motion.
Miscellaneous
If the Chief Justice holds the opinion that the number of advocates practicing
in Brunei Darussalam is sufficient to serve the community, he shall make such a
declaration to that effect in the Government. During the period after the
Declaration was made and before it is revoked, no person other than a national of
Brunei shall be entitled to be admitted as an advocate or even issued a provisional
license to. His Majesty in Council can also direct at 6 months after the Declaration
was made, that the name of any advocate who at that time is not an ordinary
resident of Brunei Darussalam to be deleted. It is an offence for an person who is
not considered a qualified person to practice law in Brunei Darussalam, to act as an
advocate and solicitor and upon conviction shall be liable to a fine of $1,000 and to
imprisonment for a term of 6 months. However, if they commit such acts which
includes preparing a document involving a grant of probate or letters of
administration or he acts on behalf of claimant that alleges to have a legal claim
and as a result writes, publishes or sends a letter or notice threatening legal
proceedings shall only be guilty of an offence if he can prove that the act was not
done for or in expectation of any fee, gain or reward.
The Law Society

The Law Society of Brunei Darussalam was established in 2003 in
accordance with the Legal Profession (Law Society of Brunei Darussalam) Order
of 2003, which is a subsidiary legislation to the Legal Profession Act. Amongst its
objectives are to maintain and improve the standards of professional conduct and
learning within the legal profession, to facilitate the acquisition of legal knowledge
by members of the legal profession, to assist the Government and the Courts in all
matters relating to the law and to establish a library housing law books and reports
to help facilitate knowledge building among the profession.
Membership
The Law Society consists of all advocates and solicitors who possess a valid
practicing certificate and they will remain as members for as long as they hold one.
The society also admit as members non-practitioners and these are advocates and
solicitors who does not have a valid practicing certificate but non-practitioner
members are not eligible to vote and they themselves cannot be elected to the
Council. Honorary members are also occasionally admitted as members to the
Society as they think fit and this membership could be either for life or for such a
period the Council thinks appropriate. As mentioned briefly, only practitioner
members are eligible to attend and vote at any general meeting of the Society but
only practitioner members who are Brunei Darussalam nationals are eligible to be
elected to the Council. A practitioner member can also by resolution exclude all
other members from a general meeting of the society. Any member of the society
other than an honorary member may, after being given a reasonable opportunity to
answer all allegations made against him, be expelled from membership or be
deprived from any of the rights and privileges of the membership. A practitioner
member however cannot be expelled so long as he has in force a practicing
certificate.

Legal Qualifications for Syariah Lawyers
Section 25 of the Syariah Courts Act (Chapter 184) has specified who may
be appointed as Syar’ie Prosecutor. His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan
may, on the advice of the President of the Majlis Ugama Islam and after
consultation with the Majlis, appoint a person who is qualified to become Syariah
High Court Judge, to be the Chief Syar’ieProsecutor26. The Chief Syar’ie
Prosecutor shall have powers exercisable at his discretion to commence and carry
out any proceedings for an offence before a Syariah Court; and he shall not be
subject to the direction or control of any other person or authority.
His Majesty the Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan may, on the advice of the
President of the Majlis and after consultation with the Chief Syar’ie Prosecutor,
appoint a fit and suitable persons from members of the public service to be Syar’ie
Prosecutors who shall act under the supervision and direction of the Chief Syar’ie
Prosecutor and may exercise all or any right and power vested in or exercisable by
the Chief Syar’ie Prosecutor himself29. Whereas for Syar’ie Lawyers, section
27(1) of the Syariah Courts Act (Chapter 184) says that the Chief Syar’ie Judge
may, on payment of the prescribed fee, admit a person who possesses sufficient
knowledge about Hukum Syara’ and suitable to become a Syar’ie Lawyer to
represent the parties in any proceedings before any Syariah Court. Subsection (2)
of section 27 also states that no person other than a Syar’ie Lawyer shall have the
right to appear as a bil-khusumah representative in any Syariah Court on behalf of
any party to any proceeding before it. Section 28 of the Syariah Courts Act
(Chapter 184), the Chief Syar’ie Judge may, with the approval of His Majesty the
Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan, make Rules of Court to provide for the procedure,
qualifications and fees for admission of Syar’ie Lawyers as well as regulate,

control and supervise the conduct of Syar’ie Lawyers. By virtue of that section, the
Syariah Courts (Syar’ie Lawyers) Rules, 2002 has been enacted which commences
on the same date as the Syariah Courts Act (Chapter 184). Part II of this Rules talks
about the Establishment of Syar’ie Lawyers Committee, Part III talks about Syar’ie
Lawyers, Part IV on discipline, Part V on miscellaneous provisions; whereas fees
and forms under this Rules can be found in the First and Second Schedule
respectively. Rule 9 talks about admission of Syar’ie Lawyers, which shall be
made by the Chief Syar’ie Judge. Rule 10 stated that a person may be admitted to
be Syar’ie Lawyers if he –
(a)
(i) is a Muslim and has passed the final examination which leads to a degree
in Syariah from any university or any Islamic educational institution
recognized by the Government of Brunei Darussalam;
ii) is a Muslim advocate or solicitor enrolled under the Legal Profession Act
(Chapter 132) who has passed the Syar’ie Lawyer Certificate examination;
(iii) has served as a Syar’ie Judge, Kadi or Syar’ie Prosecutor for a period of
not less than 3 years; or
(iv) is a Muslim who has received professional training in Islamic judicial
matters which is recognized by the Government of Brunei Darussalam or
who specializes in Hukum Syara’;
(b) has attained the age of 21 years;
(c) is of good behavior and –
(i) has never been convicted in Brunei Darussalam or in any other place of
any criminal offence which makes him unfit to become a Syar’ie Lawyer;
(ii) has never been adjudged a bankrupt; and

(iii) has never been disbarred, struck off or suspended in his capacity as a
legal practitioner by whatever name called in any other country.
Legal Education
Presently, there is no law faculty at the University of Brunei Darussalam.
Most of the lawyers practicing in Brunei are either qualified in England or
Malaysia. As stated earlier in Rule 10 of the Syariah Courts (Syar’ie Lawyers)
Rules, 2002, a person may be admitted as Syar’ie Lawyers if he fulfills all the
necessary requirements. Therefore, in its effort to produce qualified Islamic
lawyers and legal practitioners in the Syariah Court, the University of Brunei
Darussalam has offered a course in Diploma in Islamic Law and Legal Practice30,
which started its first session in 2000/2001. This course stresses upon the practical
aspect especially in practicality, legal administration and their executions.
Objectives of this course are, among others, to give wider opportunity for law
degree holders and legal practitioners in Brunei Darussalam, in Syariah or Civil to
undertake a formal program in Islamic law; to give more exposure to law graduates
in Islamic law and Administration; to produce qualified Islamic lawyers; and to
minimizing government expenditure on sending students abroad by providing the
course locally. Subjects offered in the program includes the Islamic Legal System,
Islamic Family Law, Syariah Political Science, Islamic Judiciary and Practice,
Brunei Legal System, Islamic Law and Evidence, Islamic Criminal law, Islamic
Law of Contract and Trade, Procedures in Criminal and Civil and Commercial
Law.

Cambodia
Practice of Law History
Like most countries in the region and the world, the Cambodian legal system
has evolved from unwritten customary law to statutory law. Scholars have
classified Cambodian legal development into two phases, namely ancient law and
modern law.9 The former refers to the unwritten customary law from the Funan
9 Royal University of Law and Economics and Cooperation and Cultural Activities of French Embassy, Introduction Au Droit
Cambodgien,p.7

Period to the Angkor Period, whereas the latter refers to the codification of
Cambodian laws from 1336 to the present.
Before French colonization (1863), Cambodia was governed by customary
rules based on consensus. From 1863 to 1953, the Cambodian legal and judicial
systems were based almost entirely on the French system. This system had a strong
impact not merely on the law and legal education system but also on Cambodian
lawyers, prosecutors, judges and bureaucrats until 1975. From April 1975 to
December 1978, the dictatorial proletariat regime of the Khmer Rouge eradicated
the entire legal system, existing laws, the judiciary, and government institutions.
Judges, lawyers and other legal professionals were the target of execution.
Vietnamese troops invaded Cambodia and started their occupation on January 7th,
1979. At that time the country faced a severe shortage of lawyers and laws. The
legal system that emerged during these years was heavily influenced by the
Vietnamese system. Major legislation promulgated during this period included
Cambodia’s presently applicable contract law. During the period of the United
Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) from 1991 to 1993, a
number of laws – including a criminal law, a judicial law, and a press law – were
enacted. The current legal system is a hybrid legal system, which an amalgamation
of Cambodian customs, the French based legal system (an influence from French
colonization), and the common law system, which is an influence arising from
foreign aid assistance to legal and judicial reform in Cambodia.
Sources of Law in Cambodia
The word “sources” in this context means the origins of legal rules,
including relevant Cambodian authorities and other sources of law recognized by
the laws in force. The word “law” in the Cambodian context can mean both

domestic law and international law according to a 2007 decision of the
Constitutional Council. In accordance with Cambodian laws and regulations, as
well as the current practice, sources of law in Cambodia can be classified as either
primary sources, which means all legal instruments of the competent authorities of
the State, or secondary sources, which means customs, traditions, conscience and
equity, judicial decisions, arbitral awards, and doctrines. In civil cases, when the
law is not explicit, or when there is a gap in the law (for example where there are
no provisions of law governing the circumstances in the case), the adjudicating
court can proceed with the hearing and determine the case based on customs,
traditions, conscience and equity. Cambodian court judgments, other than those by
the new hybrid court, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia, do
not often refer to precedents. However precedents for arbitral awards are well
developed by the Arbitration Council, a quasi-judicial body that has jurisdiction
over collective labor disputes. Cambodian legal doctrines can often be traced to
well-known publications by scholars of Cambodian law.
The Cambodian Legal Profession
The Cambodian legal profession officially came into existence in 1932
through the Royal Declaration No.32 dated March 15, 1932 and Royal Kram No.
648 dated March 30, 1951.Traditionally, people who practiced laws were called
“Sma-Kdey” or “Neak Thak Nay Kdey” which means lawyers in present day
language. The current legal profession is a product of the country’s turbulent
history and it is an independent and autonomous profession involved in serving
justice. The legal profession may only be pursued from within the framework of
the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia (the BAKC). The BAKC was
established in 1995 and its governing body is called the Bar Council which is
composed of a president and members and assisted by the secretariat. The

president is elected for a term of two years. The members of the Bar Council are
elected by registered lawyers for a term of three years. The Law on the Bar
Association provides two gateways to enter the legal profession in Cambodia, one
through the training at the Lawyer’s Training Center 10 and the other through two
years of working experience in the legal field.11
According to the Law on the Bar, apart from those lawyers who are members of
the BAKC, no one may perform this profession, provide legal consultation, or
prepare legal documents for compensation, except when such legal consultation or
preparation of documents is an ancillary job to their profession or is a function
permitted by law.12
Foreign Lawyers
Foreign lawyers can practice law in Cambodia only with authorization from
the Bar Council. This authorization will depend on the sufficiency of the
qualifications of the foreign lawyer and will only be granted when the country of
origin of the foreign lawyer provides this same possibility to Cambodian lawyers.
10 Law on the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, art 31 (1995). Article 31 of the
Law on the Bar states: A person may engage in the profession as a lawyer, provided that he
or she has fulfilled the conditions hereunder: 1. Shall have Khmer nationality.
2. Shall have a Bachelor of Law degree (Licence en Droit) or a law degree declared
equivalent.
3. Shall have a Certificate of Lawyer’s Professional Skill. This Certificate of Lawyer’s
Professional Skill shall be issued by a Center for Training of the Legal Profession. The
organization and the functioning of this center shall be determined by sub-decree.
4. Shall never have been convicted of any misdemeanor or felony, nor received any
disciplinary action or administrative penalty, such as removal from any function, or dismissal
for any act contrary to honor or any act of moral turpitude. Shall not have been declared
personally bankrupt by a court.

11 Law on the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, art 32 (1995). Article 32
of the Law on the Bar states that: Neither the Certificate of Lawyer’s Professional
Skill nor the Bachelor of Law degree (Licence en Droit) shall be required for:
12 Law on the Bar Association of the Kingdom of Cambodia, art 4 (1995)

This authorization may be withdrawn if there is malpractice during the practice of
the legal profession in the territory of Cambodia.
Structure of Legal Practice
The structure of legal practice in Cambodia can be classified into solo law
practice (sole proprietorship) and group practice (partnership). According to the
Law on the Bar, a Cambodian law firm must have the character of a civil company
in which all of its members are lawyers. However, the term “civil company” is not
defined by law. Lawyers’ offices are referred to as a “law office, law firm, or law
group”. Individuals or entities other than lawyers are not permitted to use the terms
“law office”, “law firm” or “law group”. The legal professions of other countries in
the region have undergone structural changes in recent years as a part of the
liberalization of legal services. When comparing the legal profession in Cambodia
to the legal profession in other countries in the region it becomes apparent that
there is an urgent need to amend the Cambodian Law on the Bar to meet and
reflect the changes and requirements of the World Trade Organization. For
instance, in Singapore, law firms which were traditionally operating in a sole
proprietorship or general partnerships were allowed to practice as limited liability
partnerships and limited liability companies.

Indonesia
History of the Legal Practice
The Indonesian legal profession can trace its roots back to the Dutch
colonial era and the two types of lawyer that practiced in the jurisdiction; namely,
pokrol bambu (zaakwarnemer or native/indigenous lawyer) and advocaat en
procureurs or advocate. Both types of lawyer consulted and assisted people with
legal problems and also were primary players in the litigation process. However,
there were also differences. The two major differences dealt with professional
requirements and the venue in which they were allowed to represent or assist their

clients. In order for an advocate to practice it was compulsory for them to hold a
Master of Law degree. Furthermore, an advocaat en procureurs provided legal
services for Europeans throughout the colonial court The Legal Profession and
Education including the District Court (Residetie-Gerecht), the Appellate Court
(Raad van Justitie), and the Supreme Court (Hogerechtschof). In contrast, the
Dutch colonial government did not require the pokrol bambu to have any legal
education or even a legal background as neither was considered to be of critical
importance to the intended functions of the pokrol bambu. The function of the
pokrol bambu was to provide legal services for and to the indigenous population
throughout

the

native/indigenous

court

system;

namely, the

Landraad,

Districsgerecht, and Regenstschapsgerecht.
The Dutch colonial government recognized the functions and duties of both
advocates and pokrol bambu by enacting Staatsblaad 1847 on Judicial
Organizations and Justice Policy (Reglement op de Techterlijke Organisatie en het
Beleid der Justice) and Staatsblad 1927-496 on Assistance and Representation
to Parties in Civil Cases at the Native/Indigenous District Court (Landraad).
Staatsblad 1847-23 was the first attempt by the Dutch colonial government to
establish a legal regulatory framework setting out the rules of legal practice in
Indonesia (or at that time the Dutch East Indies). The regulatory framework
included provisions for advocates to be supervised by judges sitting on the
appellate courts and Staatsblad 1927-496 set out provisions designed to protect
indigenous clients from any malpractice and manipulation that may arise as a result
of retaining the services of untrained pokrol bamboo representing clients that
possessed even less knowledge of the law and the legal system. The structure of
the legal system was prone to abuse and corrupt practices within both the judiciary
and the government, a concern that remains even to the present day.

In the post independence period specific laws were enacted to address
matters relating to the practice of law in Indonesia, such as Law No. 12 of 1970 on
the Basic Principles of Judicial Power (Law 14/1970). One issue that received
particular attention was legal aid for clients and the obligation on advocates to
provide legal assistance to those that require it. This is highlighted in Law 14/1970
which states that legal aid must be made available to individuals that may require it
at any point in the legal process. Furthermore, the Criminal Procedure Code (Law
No. 8/1981) enumerates the rights and obligations of advocates including an
obligation to provide legal assistance to individuals through both the investigative
and trial phases of cases. The issue of regulating the behavior and acts of advocates
in Indonesia through the enactment of specific legislation has always been a source
of contention, conflict, and controversy. Many advocates hold a belief that the
enactment of laws infringes on their professional independence and amounts to
State interference in the performance of their functions. The concept of
professional autonomy, although not unique to Indonesia, is premised on the belief
that self-regulation of advocates is the best method to ensure a competent
profession. In contrast, the government believes that regulation by the State is the
most effective method of maintaining professional and political stability. The
concept of politically stability and the advocate profession became intimately
intertwined during the Suharto era as a means of controlling the profession and
removing the threat that knowledgeable advocates would oppose the government’s
policies on human rights and democratic grounds.
However, the need for formal acknowledgement of the advocate’s role in the
judicial system was a primary motivating force for advocates to become involved
in the drafting and enactment of Law No. 18 of 2003 on Advocates (Advocates

Law). The preamble to the Advocates Law endeavors to justify the enactment of
the law:
“…that in order to ensure that judicial powers are free from all outside
interference and intervention, an independent, autonomous and
accountable Advocates’ Profession is required to ensure justice,
honesty and legal certainty for all seekers of justice, as well as to
uphold the law, truth, justice, and human rights; that the
independence, autonomy and accountability of the Advocates’
Profession in upholding the law needs to be guaranteed and protected
as part of the effort to uphold the supremacy of law”
Rights and Obligations of Advocates
The Advocates Law describes the rights of advocates as follows:
(1) An advocate shall be free and independent to voice opinions or make
statements to pursue a case in which s/he is involved before any court, meanwhile
adhering to the professional code of ethics and the provisions of the prevailing
laws and regulations;
(2) An advocate shall be free to perform his/her professional duties to pursue a case
in which s/he is involved, while also adhering to the professional code of ethics
and the provisions of the prevailing laws and regulations;
(3) An advocate may not be sued or prosecuted in either a civil or criminal

court

on account of something s/he has done in good faith as part of the performance of
his/her professional duties in the interest of a client before the court;
(4) In the performance of his/her professional duties, an advocate shall be entitled
to obtain information, data, and documents, whether from government
agencies/institutions or other parties, where such information, data and documents

are necessary for the pursuit of a client’s interest, subject to the provisions of the
prevailing laws and regulations;
(5) An advocate shall be entitled to have the confidentiality of his with a client
respected, including a prohibition on the seizure or inspection of case files and
documents, and on the electronic monitoring of communication devices used by an
advocate.
Furthermore, the Advocates Law states a number of obligations upon advocates,
namely:
(1) An advocate in the performance of their professional duties shall be prohibited
from differentiating between clients based on gender, religion, political affiliation,
ethnicity, race, or social and cultural background;
(2) An advocate shall be required to maintain confidentiality of all matters that
come to his/her knowledge or which s/he is informed by a client based on their
professional relationship, unless otherwise stated by the law.
(3) An advocate shall be prohibited from holding any other position that could give
rise to a conflict of interest with the duties and dignity of his profession.
(4) An advocate shall be prohibited from holding any other position that requires
such services that could prejudice the Advocates’ Profession, or reduce the
advocate’s independence and freedom in their ability to perform their duties and
responsibilities.
(5) Should an advocate accept appointment as a state official, the advocate shall
not be permitted to practice as an advocate during the term of appointment.
Appointment and Disbarring of Advocates
According to the Advocates Law only those that have successfully graduated
from an institute of higher learning specializing in law may be appointed as

advocates once they have completed a professional education program approved
by the Bar Association. Advocates may be dismissed for breaches of the Advocates
Law or the Bar Association’s Code of Ethics both of which enumerate a number of
reasons that would lead to an advocate being disbarred.
Development of Legal Education
Law and legal education has occurred as a matter of necessity throughout the
history of humanity and not always in a structured or regular format. In this regard
Indonesia is no different from any other country with respect to the development of
legal education and as such has and continues to encounter many of the issues
encountered by others. Nevertheless, Indonesia can trace its modern legal
educational institutions and form to the Dutch and the colonization of Indonesia by
the Netherlands through to a period after the conclusion of World War II and the
eventual full independence in 1949. However, it is important to note that even to
this day much of the Indonesian legal system still maintains remnants of Dutch
colonial laws and regulations. Despite the more than 300 years of colonization by
the Dutch it was not until 1909 that the Dutch colonial government considered
establishing a secondary school for law or “rechtsschool” to train the native
population in legal administrative practice to work as clerks in the burgeoning
district court system. Initially the rechtsschool was not an institute of higher
education. As the demands from the indigenous population increased along with
the need to distinguish the quality of education provided the Dutch upgraded the
rechtsschool into a rechtshogeschool or an institute of higher education for law
studies in 1924. The school was established in the colony’s capital, Batavia. In the
post-World War II period where Indonesia gained its independence from the Dutch
the rechtshogeschool became the faculty of Law at the University of Indonesia.

In the period after World War II the demand for legal education has
increased exponentially and there are now more than two hundred accredited law
faculties stretching the length and breadth of Indonesia. The potential profits that
education can generate for private educators and companies providing private
education services has meant that there has been significant growth

in the

provision of private education including legal education. This has meant that two
parallel legal education systems have developed; namely, State or public education
based faculties of law and privately-owned institutes of higher education with a
faculty of law.
Of the more than two hundred accredited law faculties throughout the
country, a mere twenty seven of these are state owned or approximately 10%. The
majority of these state-owned law faculties offer undergraduate programs that
allow students to graduate with a Bachelor of Laws or LLB (“Sarjana Hukum” or
“SH”). Only a small number of these state-owned institutions have sufficient
resources available to them to run post-graduate law programs at the Masters level
and even fewer still at the Doctorate level. Legal education in Indonesia is
undergraduate in nature and students are not required to have a first degree before
enrolling in a legal education program. This is similar to the systems offered in
Europe and Australia. It is important to note that one of the primary differences in
the Indonesian legal education system from that of Europe, Australia, and the USA
is that the system does not currently cater for a professional skills component with
in the program.
An Indonesian law degree in this regard is considered to be general in nature
preparing students for further academic study or employment in any other number

of professions outside of law rather than necessarily equipping them for the
professional practice of law. The Indonesia legal system is based on Minister of
Education Decision No. 17 of 1993 (the “Decision”) which stipulates the basic
framework of legal education at university level law schools that is to be
universally taught throughout the country. The purpose of the Decision is not only
an attempt to standardize the study of law but also an attempt to reduce the
disparity between the burgeoning numbers of law faculties offering a legal
education. The basic premise of the law curriculum is to produce graduates with
legal skills (“kemahiran hukum”) that are ready for immediate employment in the
law profession. The concept of ‘ready for employment’ does not distinguish
between public and private practice and the Decision can reasonably be construed
as preparing law graduates with generic legal skills that are applicable to both
the public and private practice of law. An initial and persistent criticism of the
standardized law curriculum was and is that it is in fact too academic and too
generic in nature to adequately prepare graduates for anything but further academic
study. It is important to distinguish the national law curriculum from other
regulations that govern the provision of continuing legal education and
professional skills such as advocacy training. The overall responsibility for setting
the law curriculum resides with the Consortium for Legal Science (the “CLS”)
within the Ministry of Education. The current CLS curriculum is divided into two
main areas; namely, compulsory subjects (the national curriculum) and elective
subjects (the local curriculum). The national curriculum is inflexible and contains a
list of law subjects that must be taught by each accredited faculty of law. These
national curriculum subjects in essence do not differ substantially from law
faculties located in any other part of the world and include such subjects as
‘Introduction to Law’, ‘The Indonesian Legal System’, ‘Civil Law and Procedure’,

‘Criminal Law and Procedure’, ‘Administrative Law’, and ‘Public International
Law’, among others. The local curriculum, in contrast, is determined by each
individual faculty and as such reflects the strengths and weaknesses of the staff on
each individual faculty. Although this system is not resistant to change, any
changes that have occurred have been labored and slow. However, it is interesting
to note that increasing emphasis is being placed on the provision of professional
legal skills at the under-graduate level although a comprehensive curriculum of
professional skills is still not readily available to be taught nor would most law
faculties have the necessary resources, financial or human, to support such an
initiative.
One of the major criticisms of the current national law curriculum is that it
does not provide graduates with the necessary analytical skills that are required to
adequately apply the generic legal skills that their law school educations have
provided them. However, there is perhaps a more fundamental criticism that must
first be leveled to understand the plight of legal education in Indonesia; namely, the
ad hoc application of the national legal curriculum and the disparity in resources,
human and others, between law faculties throughout the country. Although the
universal application of the national law curriculum may alleviate some of the
disparity issues between law faculties in Jakarta and the regions, the reality
remains that many of the leaders in legal education are concentrated in Jakarta,
which leaves only the most committed of legal educators in the regions outside of
Jakarta.
Finally, legal education is the most critical component of the development of
a sound legal profession in Indonesia, as without it the enforcement of the law by
highly-qualified and skilled legal practitioners is not a reality but an unsustainable

fantasy. The necessary building blocks for a comprehensive legal education sector
are already in place but this infrastructure and the ongoing commitment to the
development of legal education needs to be clarified and regulated to ensure that
all objectives are successfully met.
Foreign Lawyers
Indonesia allows foreign lawyers to provide legal services through
sponsorship of local law firms, but limited to work as an expert in
foreign/international

law.

After

obtaining

Indonesia

Bar

Association

recommendation, the license of a foreign lawyer will be processed by the firm
through the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration and Directorate-General of
Immigration. In order to obtain the license, a foreign lawyer should submit the
following documents: (i) a copy of their undergraduate or post graduate degree; (ii)
a letter of statement from the Bar Association verifying his or her status as an
active lawyer; and (iii) a member of the Bar Association of his or her country of
origin.
A foreign lawyer cannot obtain a full license to practice law in this
jurisdiction. The relevant impediment is Law No 18 of 2003 (concerning
advocates). This law provides that:


an advocate must be an Indonesian citizen, Indonesian resident, has law
degree education, joined special education and passed examination carried out by
Indonesia Bar Association and joined on-the-job training for a minimum of two
years at a law firm;



the foreign lawyer may only join a local firm as an employee subject to
government license based on a recommendation by the Indonesia Bar Association
and may not enter into partnership with or employ other lawyers
Foreign lawyers cannot establish an office in the absence of enabling
legislation; there are no specific rules in relation to advertising; there are no
specific rules in relation to use of names by lawyers or law firms. Foreign lawyers
and firms are treated differently from local lawyers in the application of the
regulatory framework in that a foreign lawyer is not allowed to appear in court,
undertake legal proceedings and/or establish law firms or representative office in
Indonesia; and may only join a local firm as an employee subject to government
license based on Indonesia Bar Association recommendation and may not enter
into partnership with or employ local lawyers.

Malaysia
The Legal System
The Malaysian Legal system is primarily based on the common law legal
system. The written Federal Constitution is the supreme law of the country. It is
unique as it provides a dual justice system; namely secular law (criminal and civil)
and sharia law.

The Legal Profession
As for the legal profession, Malaysia adopts the system of “fused
profession”. Upon admission to the Malaysian Bar, a lawyer is eligible to perform
the role as “advocate and solicitor”. The former appears on behalf of a client in
court while the latter deals with public aspects of legal advice. The law that
governs the admission of lawyers in peninsular Malaysia is the Legal Profession
Act 1976 (hereinafter known as the Act). By virtue of Section 4 and 5 of the Act,
the Legal Profession Qualifying Board (hereinafter known as LPQB) was formed
to govern the admission of the advocates and solicitors in Malaysia.

It is also important to understand that Malaysia is geographically segregated
into 2 parts: West Malaysia (also known as peninsular Malaysia) and East Malaysia
(known as Sabah and Sarawak). There is a minor distinction between the system
for legal profession of West and East Malaysia because the Legal Profession Act
1976 is not extended to East Malaysia.

The law that governs the admission of lawyers in Sabah is the Advocates
Ordinance of Sabah. Meanwhile in Sarawak, the law that governs the legal
profession is the Advocates Ordinance of Sarawak.

Admission

The Legal Profession Act of 1976 clearly provides the requirements to be
admitted into the Malaysia Bar under Section 10 to Section 19 of the Act.
The basic requirements for admission are found under of the Act which states:
1.

“Subject to section 14, a qualified person may be admitted as an advocate
and solicitor if he—
(i) Has attained the age of eighteen years;
(ii)Is of good character; and
(iii)

Has not been convicted in Malaysia or elsewhere of a criminal

offence as would render him unfit to be a member of his profession,
and in particular, but not limited to, an offence involving fraud or
dishonesty;
(iv)

Has not been adjudicated bankrupt and has not been found

guilty of any of the acts or omissions mentioned in paragraph 33(6)
(a), (b), (c), (e), (f), (h), (k) or (l) of the Bankruptcy Act 1967 [Act
360];
(v) Has not done any other act which, if being a barrister or solicitor in
England, would render him liable to be disbarred, disqualified or
suspended from practice; or
(vi)

Has not been, or is not liable to be, disbarred, disqualified or

suspended in his capacity as a legal practitioner in any other country;
(vii)

Is either a Federal citizen or a permanent resident of

Malaysia;Has satisfactorily served in Malaysia the prescribed period
of pupillage for qualified persons.13

13

Section 11(1) Legal Profession Act of 1976

As from the 1 January 1984, no qualified person shall be admitted as an
advocate and solicitor unless, in addition to satisfying the requirements of
subsection (1), he has passed or is exempted from the Bahasa Malaysia Qualifying
Examination.”

Meaning of “Qualified Person” (Academic Requirement)
Section 3 of the Act stipulates that a “qualified person” means any person
who—


Has passed the final examination leading to the degree of Bachelor of Laws
of the University of Malaya, the University of Malaya in Singapore, the University
of Singapore or the National University of Singapore;



Is a barrister-at-law of England; or



Is in possession of such other qualification as may by notification in the
Gazette be declared by the Board to be sufficient to make a person a qualified
person for the purposes of this Act;



Pursuant to Section (c), the recent notification in the Federal Gazette [1]
that has been declared by the Board in pursuant of Section 3(c) of the Act is as
follows:
Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP)
The Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP) is a mandatory examination for
foreign law degree holders and local graduates from specific Universities that were
shortlisted by the Legal Profession Qualifying Board of Malaysia.

Additionally, there are pre-requisites to be met before a candidate is eligible to sit
for the CLP examination. There are precise and detailed requirements set out
specifically for U.K. Law Degree holders, Australia & New Zealand Law Degree
holders and holders of Bachelor of Jurisprudence (External) University of Malaya
as well as Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) (UITM).
To avoid any confusion, students that obtain a qualification from a
University” shall be exempted from the CLP examination. This is subject to
amendments by the relevant authority.

Pupilage or Reading in Chambers (Practical Requirement)
After achieving the status of a ‘Qualified Person’ through fulfilling the
requirements above, the final step for admission is pupilage or reading in
chambers. Reading in chambers refers to the period during which a fresh law
graduate undergoes practical training. This lasts for nine months and is completed
under the direct supervision of a ‘master’ (an advocate and solicitor that has at least
seven years’ standing) in a legal firm prior to being called to the Bar. The benefits
of this system has been accepted widely as the law graduate has the opportunity to
gain real-world experiences in the legal world as opposed to solely textbook
knowledge. A distinctive feature during this period is that the master is regarded as
fully responsible for any mistake or error committed by the pupil.[1]

Foreign Lawyers

Subsequent to the recent amendments of the LPA in year 2012, there will be 3 new
entry points/license to enable the foreign lawyer to practice in Malaysia:
(a) Qualified Foreign Law Firm (QFLF) - A foreign firm may obtain a license to
operate in Malaysia as a Qualified Foreign Law Firm (“QFLF”). Under the QFLF,
the foreign law firm is permitted to operate on a stand-alone basis without a
Malaysian law firm as a partner. The license may be granted with terms and
conditions for a period of 3 years.
(b) International Partnerships -The International Partnership (“IP”) is a partnership
between the foreign law firm and a Malaysian law firm. Under the guidance notes
for IP, the Malaysian Bar Council recommends that the Malaysian Law Firm
should not have less than 60%, and the Foreign Law Firm no more than 40%, of
the equity and voting rights in the IP. The total number of foreign lawyers in the IP
shall not be less than 40% of the total number of lawyers in the IP, unless otherwise
determined by the Selection Committee.
(c) Foreign lawyers employed by Malaysian law firms. - It is permissible for a
Malaysia legal firm to employ an individual foreign lawyer to practice law in the
permitted practice areas, as mentioned above. The threshold that was suggested by
the Bar Council is that the number of foreign lawyers employed by a Malaysian
law firm shall not at any time exceed thirty percent (30%) of the total number of
lawyers in that firm unless otherwise determined by the Selection Committee.
The Malaysian Bar Council regulates the license above and the Selection
Committee is formed by virtue of the newly inserted Section 40c of the Act. The
function of the Selection Committee is to consider all applications for the above
license and making recommendations to the Bar Council.

The license may be granted subject to exceptions provided by the Act in
virtue of section 40G(7) of the LPA for Qualified Foreign Law Firms, section
40F(8)(a) of the LPA for International Partnerships, and section 40J(2) of the LPA
for foreign lawyers. Foreign lawyers practicing under the above mentioned license
will only be allowed to practice in the permitted practice areas that a reset out by
the Bar Council and the Attorney General.

Singapore
Singapore was founded as a British trading colony in 1819. It joined the
Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated two years later and became
independent. It subsequently became one of the world's most prosperous countries
with strong international trading links (its port is one of the World's busiest) and
with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western Europe.
Unlike the legal profession in England which is divided into barristers and
solicitors, the Singapore legal profession is a fused profession, with each lawyer
who is called to the Bar known as an ‘Advocate and Solicitor’ with the exclusive
right of audience to appear before all courts of justice in Singapore. In 1996 14 , a
14 Section 30 was introduced by the Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 1996 (No. 40 of
1996). The LegalProfession (Amendment) Act 1989 (No. 15 of 1989) had earlier introduced
section 28A on appointment of
Senior Counsel but no appointment was made under the 1989 provisions except for the
statutory
appointments of the persons who held the offices of Attorney-General and Solicitor-General
in 1989 (Mr
Tan Boon Teik and Mr Koh Eng Tian).

new prestigious rank of litigation specialists called Senior Counsel was created
which is analogous to the rank of Queen’s Counsel in England.
In recent years, the legal profession has undergone important structural changes.
As part of the liberalization of legal services, the Legal Profession Act (Cap. 161)
was amended in 2000 to provide that resident foreign lawyers practicing in foreign
law firms in Singapore are required to register with the Attorney-General. By
virtue of the same set of amendments, foreign lawyers were permitted, with the
approval of the Attorney-General, to form joint law ventures and formal law
alliances with local law firms and law corporations. Law firms which were
traditionally operating in general partnerships were allowed to practice as limited
companies in 2000 in the form of Limited Law Corporations or LLCs. Lawyers are
permitted to practice as locum solicitors from 2005 through the amendments
effected by the Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 2004. With the
enactment of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005, lawyers will be able to
practice as, and law firms can now be converted into, Limited Liability Law
Partnerships or LLPs.
Fused Profession
As mentioned above, the Singapore legal profession is a fused profession,
with each lawyer who is called to the Bar being called an ‘Advocate and Solicitor’
with the exclusive right of audience to appear before all courts of justice in
Singapore. In practice, some lawyers specialize in litigation whilst other lawyers
focus on solicitors work and do not appear in court. As at 31 March 2005, there
were a total of 3,439 practicing lawyers on the Roll of Advocates and Solicitors of

whom 2094 are graduates of the Law Faculty of the University of Malaya (in
Singapore) or National University of Singapore (NUS).
Senior Counsel
The emergence of highly specialist litigators has led to the appointment of
Senior Counsel, analogous to the rank of Queen’s Counsel in England. The
appointments were intended to encourage home-grown advocates of the highest
caliber instead of reliance on the ad hoc admission of Queen’s Counsel from
England15. Some senior lawyers feel that the increasing use of Senior Counsel for
very complex litigation will lead to a quasi-split profession. As at October 2005,
there were 41 Senior Counsel. Several Senior Counsel on the list are not practicing
as they are currently Judges of the Supreme Court. Senior Counsel in Singapore
are appointed by a selection committee constituted under section 30 of the Legal
Profession Act comprising the Chief Justice, the Attorney-General and the Judges
of Appeal. The selection committee appoints Senior Counsel on the basis of
applications received from persons who have had a minimum of 10 years’
experience as advocates and solicitors or as Legal Service officers or both. The
committee may appoint a member of the Bar as a Senior Counsel if they are of the
opinion that, by virtue of the person’s ability, standing at the Bar or special
knowledge or experience in law, the person is deserving of such distinction. Senior
Counsel rank in precedence after the AttorneyGeneral and the Solicitor-General
according to their seniority of appointment as Senior Counsel.
Consultants
15 Before the appointment of Senior Counsel, parties would seek the ad hoc
admission of Queen’s Counsel (QC) from England under section 21 of the LPA for
difficult and complex cases in which the QC had special qualification.

A practicing lawyer is not allowed to take or use the title of consultant unless
he has not less than 10 years’ experience in the aggregate as a practicing lawyer,
legal officer or academic in the Law Faculty of NUS. It is not uncommon for
retired partners and retired judges to practice as consultants to law firms.
INSTITUTIONS
The institutions governing the admission into and the conduct of the legal
profession in Singapore are:
(a) Board of Legal Education;
(b) Supreme Court of Singapore;
(b) Law Society of Singapore;
(c) Singapore Academy of Law; and
(d) Attorney-General's Chambers.
Board of Legal Education
The Board of Legal Education (“Board”) is a statutory body established
under the Legal Profession Act . The Board comprises the Attorney-General, the
President of the Law Society of Singapore, the Dean of the Law Faculty of NUS, 4
advocates and solicitors nominated by the Senate of the Academy of Law after
consultation with the Council of the Law Society, and 3 other members nominated
by the Senate of the Academy of Law. The main objectives of the Board are to
register qualified persons seeking admission as advocates and solicitors, to provide
for the training, education and examination of qualified persons intending to
practice the profession of law in Singapore and to exercise supervision over
qualified persons during their period of pupilage.
Supreme Court of Singapore

All advocates and solicitors and legal officers are officers of the Supreme
Court. Advocates and solicitors are admitted by a Judge of the Supreme Court,
usually the Chief Justice, at a “mass call”. The Registrar of the Supreme Court
issues, upon application, the practicing certificates authorizing the lawyer to
practice as an advocate and solicitor in Singapore. The Registrar also maintains a
register of practitioners. A lawyer cannot practice law without a practicing
certificate16. All advocates and solicitors are subject to the control of the Supreme
Court and are liable on due cause shown to a court of 3 Judges of the Supreme
Court, to be struck off the roll or suspended from practice for any period not
exceeding 5 years or censured.
Law Society of Singapore
The Society was established in 1967 by statute and took on the name of the
Law Society of Singapore in 1970. The Society is managed by a body of persons
called the Council of the Society which consists of 15 elected members, as well as
3 members nominated to serve by the Minister for Law. Elections to the Council
are held every year and all lawyers who hold practicing certificates vote at the
elections in the category of their seniority at the Bar. Voting is compulsory by law.
The members of the Council elect from amongst themselves, a President and two
Vice Presidents of the Law Society. The purposes of the Law Society and the
powers of the Council are described in the Legal Profession Act. Some of the
important purposes of the Law Society are to maintain and improve the standards
of conduct and learning of the legal profession in Singapore, to represent, protect
and assist members of the legal profession in Singapore, to protect and assist the
public in Singapore in all matters touching on the law and to establish a scheme
16 It is an offence under section 33 of the LPA punishable by a fine and/or
imprisonment of up to 6 months.

whereby needy persons on non-capital criminal charges can be represented by
lawyers. Some important functions of the Council are to make rules to regulate the
practice and conduct of lawyers, to manage the Law Society and its funds, and to
deal with complaints of misconduct against lawyers. To assist the Council in
carrying out its statutory functions, the Council has appointed various committees
and permanent staff including a Chief Executive.
Singapore Academy of Law
Singapore Academy of Law ("the Academy") was established by the
Singapore Academy of Law Act in 1988. At the time of its inception, Parliament
had envisaged an institution patterned after the English Inns of Court, to develop
among the legal profession in Singapore a collegiate spirit which is necessary for
pride in the profession and in its standards and practices befitting an honourable
profession.
Over the years, the Academy has evolved from a membership-based body to
a service based institution. It is now also the law reporting agency in Singapore; a
continuing legal education provider; a legal publications body; an alternative
dispute resolutions agency; an appointing body for Senior Counsel, commissioners
for oaths and notaries public; a promoter of legal information technology and the
keeper of stake holding moneys in Singapore.
The Academy is a statutory body with a broad set of functions. Under the
Academy is subsidiary, the Singapore Mediation Centre, which plays a specialized
and unique role in the promotion of mediation as alternative means for the
resolution of civil, commercial and trade disputes.

Attorney-General
The regulation of foreign lawyers in Singapore is vested in the AttorneyGeneral rather than the Law Society. The office of the Attorney-General of
Singapore is established by the Constitution of Singapore. In addition to being the
Public Prosecutor, the Attorney-General advises the Government upon such legal
matters and performs such other duties of a legal character, as may be referred or
assigned to him by the President or the Cabinet. He is also to discharge the
functions conferred on him by the Constitution or any other legislation. The Legal
Profession (International Services) Secretariat in the AttorneyGeneral's Chambers
registers all foreign law firms and foreign lawyers practicing offshore law in
Singapore. The Attorney-General is the approving authority for the formation of
Joint Law Ventures and Formal Law Alliances between Singapore law firms and
foreign law firms. The Attorney-General is also empowered to take disciplinary
proceedings against foreign lawyers and may cancel the registration of a Joint Law
Venture or a Formal Law Alliance for sufficient reasons.
PRACTICE STRUCTURES
Practicing lawyers have a wide variety of structures in which to practice law.
They may practice in sole proprietorships, in general partnerships, in limited
liability partnerships and in limited law corporations. In addition, solicitors may
practice on a temporary or free lance basis as a locum solicitor33 and several small
law firms can form a Group Law Practice. Large firms specializing in corporate
and banking and finance may also practice jointly with international law firms
through Joint Law Ventures and Formal Law Alliances.
Sole Proprietors and General Partnerships

A lawyer may practice alone or in partnership with other lawyers or as an
employed legal assistant in a law firm. The firm is owned by the partners and the
legal assistants are salaried employees. Although there are a number of large firms,
the vast majority of firms are small and medium-sized. Up to 1 March 1997, there
was nothing to prevent a newly qualified lawyer from setting up his own law firm.
This was changed in 1997 when the Legal Profession Act was amended. Lawyers
admitted on or after 1 March 1997, cannot practice as a sole proprietor or partner
for the first three years of practice. After 3 years of practice, lawyers can practice
without any restriction as a partner or director. A lawyer cannot practice as a sole
proprietor, even after 3 years of practice, without completing the Law Society's
Legal Practice Management Course.
A solicitor may be exempted from this restriction if the Minister for Law is
satisfied that a solicitor has gained substantial experience in law in Singapore or
elsewhere. The application, however, must be made to the Council which then
seeks the Minister's approval on the solicitor's behalf. Section 75C will not apply if
the lawyer practices as a partner with a lawyer of more than 3 years' practice.
Limited Liability Law Partnerships
With the enactment of the Limited Liability Partnerships Act 2005, lawyers
can now take advantage of this new business vehicle for the practice of law.
Although the structure and management of an LLP is closer to that of a general
partnership than a limited law corporation, the LLP is a separate legal entity from
its partners. The liability of partners are limited to the amount of their contributions
to the property of the LLP. A partner is not personally liable, directly or indirectly,
by way of indemnification, contribution, assessment or otherwise, for an obligation
of the LLP solely by reason of being a partner of the LLP. The partners of the LLP

are not vicariously responsible for the negligence and other wrongful acts of their
employees. But lawyers practicing in an LLP continue to be personally liable for
their own professional negligence. The Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill 2005
(Bill No. 31 of 2005) introduced on 17 October 2005 will introduce the regulatory
requirements for lawyers practicing in limited liability partnerships. As an LLP will
be a separate legal entity and its liability is limited, the regulatory restrictions in the
new Part VIB of the Legal Profession Act are similar to that imposed on limited
law corporations.
Limited Law Corporations
Singapore lawyers have the option of providing legal services through law
corporations in addition to sole proprietorships or partnerships with the enactment
of the Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 2000. A law corporation is an exempt
private limited company incorporated under the Companies Act. The liabilities of
shareholders of the LLC are limited to their share contributions. The directors and
shareholders are not vicariously responsible for the negligence and other wrongful
acts of their employees. But lawyers practicing in a LLC continue to be personally
liable for their own professional negligence. The directors of the LLC shall be
jointly liable to disciplinary proceedings under the Legal Profession Act if the
business of the law corporation is conducted in a manner unbefitting an honourable
profession and where such conduct cannot be attributed to the act or omission of a
particular solicitor or solicitors whose identity is known. The LLC has the same
rights and is subject to the same fiduciary, confidential and ethical requirements
with respect to each client that exist at law with respect to a solicitor and his client.
The Companies Act and other written law relevant to companies will apply to a
law corporation subject to the overriding requirements and restrictions under the
Legal Profession Act and the Legal Profession (Law Corporation) Rules. Some of

the restrictions relate to the holding and disposal of shares in the LLC. The name of
the law corporation must be approved by the Council. A law corporation (which is
a separate legal entity from the practicing lawyers who are members of its Board of
Directors) has all the rights and is subject to the same obligations as a lawyer
holding a practicing certificate. The memorandum of every law corporation must
comply with the requirements in the Legal Profession (Law Corporation) Rules
and every law corporation is required by the Legal Profession (Professional
Indemnity Insurance) Rules to maintain a higher coverage of indemnity insurance
($2 million for each claim) than general partnerships ($1 million for each claim).
There is however no minimum paid-up capital to comply with.
FOREIGN LAWYERS
The regulation of foreign lawyers in Singapore is vested in the AttorneyGeneral rather than the Law Society. The Legal Profession (International Services)
Secretariat of the Attorney-General's Chambers registers all foreign law firms and
foreign lawyers practicing offshore law in Singapore48. As at 3 October 2005,
there were 62 foreign law firms and 6 foreign representative law offices registered
with the Attorney-General’s Chambers.
Joint Law Ventures and Formal Law Alliances
The Attorney-General is the approving authority for the formation of Joint
Law Ventures and Formal Law Alliances between Singapore law firms and foreign
law firms. As at 3 October 2005, there were 6 Joint Law Ventures. A foreign lawyer
who is employed by or who is a partner or director of a Joint Law Venture may
practice Singapore law as part of the Joint Law Venture if he is registered to
practice Singapore law by the Attorney-General.

A Joint Law Venture may be constituted: (a) by a partnership between a
foreign law firm and a Singapore law firm; or (b) by the incorporation of a
company under Singapore law with shares in the company held by a foreign law
firm and a Singapore law firm or by their respective nominees.
Approval is subject to compliance with the conditions set out in the Legal
Profession (International Services) Rules. For example, the foreign law firm and
the Singapore law firm must have relevant legal expertise and experience in
banking and finance work which are acceptable to the Attorney-General. A Joint
Law Venture is entitled to privileges. The Joint Law Venture may practice in areas
of legal practice mutually agreed between the law firms constituting the Joint Law
Venture. Foreign lawyers who are employed by, or who are partners or directors of,
the registered Joint Law Venture may practice Singapore law. The Joint Law
Venture may market or publicize itself as a single service provider competent to
provide legal services in all areas in which the constituent law firms are qualified
to provide and bill its clients as if it were a single law firm.
A Formal Law Alliance is formed by a written agreement between the foreign law
firm and the Singapore law firm. The approval is subject to compliance with
conditions set out in the Legal Profession (International Services) Rules. For
example, the foreign law firm and the Singapore law firm must have relevant legal
expertise and experience in banking, finance, corporate, technology or
telecommunications work or such other areas of work as may be determined by the
Attorney-General. A Formal Law Alliance is entitled to privileges. The Formal
Law Alliance may market or publicize itself as a single service provider competent
to provide legal services in all areas in which the constituent law firms are
qualified to provide and bill its clients as if it were a single law firm. A foreign
lawyer who is a partner, director or an employee of the foreign law firm which

constitutes part of the Formal Law Alliance may prepare all the documents in a
transaction involving the law or regulatory regime of more than one country or
jurisdiction, except that any legal opinion relating to Singapore law must be given
by a practicing Singapore lawyer.
Disciplinary Proceedings Against Foreign Lawyers
A foreign lawyer practicing Singapore law in a Joint Law Venture shall
comply with such rules relating to professional conduct or ethics as may be
prescribed in rules made under section 130J unless the Attorney-General, in his
discretion, exempts the foreign lawyer from such compliance. Sections 71 and 72
and rules made under those sections apply, with prescribed modifications to a Joint
Law Venture in respect of the practice of Singapore law. The Attorney-General is
also empowered to take disciplinary proceeding against foreign lawyers and may
cancel the registration60 of a Joint Law Venture or a Formal Law Alliance for
sufficient reasons.
QUALIFICATIONS TO PRACTISE
Legal Education and Law Faculty of National University of Singapore
The Singapore law school, then called the Law Department of the University
of Malaya (in Singapore) was set up in 1956. Until then, students wishing to
become qualified lawyers had to pursue their law studies in England, Wales or
Northern Ireland. The first batch of law students were admitted to the Law
Department in September 1957. The first Professor of Law and Head of the Law
Department was L A Sheridan. He was only 29 years of age and was already a
distinguished scholar. He became the Dean when the Law Department became a
Faculty of Law in 1958. He had the unenviable task of setting up a law library,

recruiting staff, devising an internationally acceptable syllabus, introducing
teaching methods to inexperienced teachers and developing legal research. The
Law Faculty produced its first batch of 22 graduates in 196161. The first local law
graduate was admitted to the Singapore Bar on 26 January 1962. The first local law
graduate was admitted to the Malayan (now Malaysian) Bar on 31 January 1962.
Requirements for Admission as Advocates and Solicitors
To be admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court of
Singapore, a lawyer must be a “qualified person” within the meaning of Section 2
of the Legal Profession Act.
Before a qualified person can be admitted to the Singapore Bar as an
advocate and solicitor, he must also satisfy the other requirements of the Act which
are as follows:
(a) has attained the age of 21 years;
(b) is of good character;
(c) has satisfactorily served the prescribed period of pupillage for qualified
persons;
(d) has attended such courses of instruction and kept such dining terms as
may be prescribed by the Board of Legal Education (Postgraduate Practical
Law Course and Edu-Dine); and
(e) has passed such examinations as may be prescribed by the Board
(Postgraduate Practical Law Course examinations).
Meaning of “Qualified Person”
To be a qualified person, an aspiring lawyer can either ⎯(a) graduate with at
least a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) (second class lower honours) from the National

University of Singapore; or (b) graduate with at least a second class upper honours
or equivalent law degree from approved universities in the United Kingdom (UK),
Australia or New Zealand and obtain the Graduate Diploma in Singapore Law.
To qualify for admission to the one year full-time Diploma in Singapore Law
course, applicants from approved UK universities must possess a first class or
second upper class bachelor's degree in law. Applicants from approved Australian
and New Zealand universities must be ranked by the institution concerned as
among the highest 30% of the candidate's cohort in terms of academic
performance. As at 1 August 2005, the approved universities are:
(a) UK universities ⎯
Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Durham, Exeter, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool,
London (King's College London, London School of Economics, Queen Mary and
Westfield College, School of Oriental and African Studies, University College
London), Manchester, Nottingham, Oxford, Sheffield, Southampton and Warwick;
(b) Australian and New Zealand universities ⎯
Australian National University (ANU), Flinders, Monash, Melbourne, New South
Wales, Queensland, Sydney, Auckland, Victoria (Wellington), Western Australia,
Tasmania and Murdoch.
In addition, the Board of Legal Education has discretion63 to approve as a
qualified person any person who possesses such qualification or expertise as would
contribute to, promote or enhance the quality of legal services in Singapore or the
economic or technological development of Singapore. This special scheme allows
the Board to approve exceptional graduates from universities which are not on the
approved list.

Practical Law Course
After one becomes a qualified person, the next step is to complete the
Postgraduate Practical Law Course (“PLC”) conducted by the Board of Legal
Education and pass the examinations. The PLC is a full-time course currently
conducted over a period of 5 months. The course seeks to teach and train students
in procedural law and practice, practical evidence, and certain areas of substantive
law relevant to practice in Singapore.
It also seeks to train them in the skills of the professional lawyer and to provide
opportunities to practice these skills under supervision. It introduces students to the
work of the professional lawyer in his office, in dealing with clients, and in the
courts.
In 1999, the Board introduced an institution called “Edu-Dine” for PLC
students. The primary objective is to provide a congenial forum where, over 3
dinners, students may interact with judges, senior lawyers, law academics, etc., so
as to know them better and to develop a collegiate spirit among members of the
legal fraternity.
Pupillage
The final step to admission as an advocate and solicitor is for the qualified
person to serve a period of 6 months pupillage with a pupil master who is an
advocate and solicitor of not less than 5 years’ standing. Lawyers employed in the
Singapore Legal Service have to serve a longer period of 3 years pupilage64 with a
legal officer who is an advocate and solicitor of not less than 5 years’ standing.
Pupils are required to seek the approval from the Board to serve their pupillage by
submitting an application form to the Board.

Other Routes to Admission
Experienced Malayan practitioners in active practice in any part of Malaysia
for 3 out of the immediate past 4 years may be admitted to the Singapore Bar
without having to serve pupillage or attend the Practical Law course. Such
Malayan practitioners must however obtain the same qualifications as Singapore
qualified persons. The scheme for experienced Hong Kong practitioners to be
admitted directly to the Singapore Bar was discontinued with effect from 1 January
1995.
PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS
Ethics and Rules
The legal profession in Singapore is governed by the Legal Profession Act
and a plethora of Rules passed under the Act including the Legal Profession
(Professional Conduct) Rules, the Legal Profession (Solicitors’ Accounts) Rules
and the Legal Profession (Publicity) Rules. The Professional Conduct Rules cover
a wide range of topics and can be said to constitute the canons of legal ethics
although it is not exhaustive. The more than 90 rules deal with topics like Touting
and Referrals, Relationship and Dealings with Clients, Conduct of Proceedings in
Court, Defending Accused Persons and Conduct of Criminal Prosecutions. Added
to the Rules, is a body of case law that had been developed by the Courts over the
years particularly after the Legal Profession Act became law in 1967. In order to
safeguard the interests of the public, all practicing lawyers are required to maintain
a minimum amount of professional indemnity insurance against loss arising from
professional negligence and other claims68. The minimum coverage for each claim
is $1 million for sole proprietorships and general partnerships and $2 million for

LLCs and LLPs. The Solicitors’ Accounts Rules have also been tightened in 2004
as a preventive measure against lawyers absconding with their clients’ monies. All
law practices must carry out monthly reconciliations of their clients’ account. All
authorizations for payments from the clients’ account above $5,000 must be signed
by 2 lawyers unless the law firms’ books are kept by an accounting firm or
corporation or by a book-keeper approved by the Law Society. No money from the
client’s account can be withdrawn by a cash cheque without the client’s written
authorization.
DISCIPLINARY PROCESSES
The legal profession is a self-regulatory profession in that disciplinary
proceedings are conducted by the Law Society of Singapore. As all advocates and
solicitors are officers of the Supreme Court, the more severe sanctions of
suspension or striking off the rolls can only be imposed by a court of 3 Judges of
the Supreme Court. The Law Society however does not have jurisdiction over
lawyers who are employed in the Singapore Legal Service as Magistrates, District
Judges and State Counsel. Investigations against legal officers must be authorized
by the Chief Justice and if a prima facie case exists, the Chief Justice may appoint
a Disciplinary Committee to hear and investigate the complaint. If the Disciplinary
Committee finds that cause of sufficient gravity exists, the Chief Justice may
initiate the application to the court of 3 Judges for disciplinary action. Foreign
lawyers, Joint Law Ventures and Formal Law Alliances are regulated by the
Attorney-General. Disciplinary proceedings against practicing lawyers may be
initiated in three ways. Where the Society receives a complaint regarding the
conduct of a practicing lawyer, or where the Attorney-General or the Supreme
Court refers any information to the Society concerning the conduct of a practicing

lawyer, the Law Society Council must refer the matter to the Chairman of the
Inquiry Panel. The Council may also refer any information on its own initiative.
The Chairman must refer the complaint or information to a Review
Committee comprising a practicing lawyer on the Inquiry Panel as chairman and a
legal officer with at least 10 years’ experience. The main function of the Review
Committee is act as a filter by advising the Council to dismiss complaints or
information which are frivolous, vexatious, misconceived or lacking in
substance70. Complaints which are not filtered by the Review Committee are then
referred to an Inquiry Committee comprising 2 practicing lawyers from the Inquiry
Panel, a legal officer with at least 10 years’ experience and a lay person (nonlawyer who is usually a professional, e.g. doctor or engineer). The Inquiry
Committee’s task is to investigate whether there is any substance in the complaint,
and recommend whether the complaint should be formally investigated by a
Disciplinary Committee. There are strict time limits imposed on the Inquiry
Committee.
Upon completion of investigations, the Inquiry Committee may recommend
several courses of action to the Council. Where the misconduct is not serious, it
may recommend dismissal of the complaint or imposition of a penalty of a fine not
exceeding $5,000. If the Inquiry Committee recommends a formal investigation by
the Disciplinary Committee, the Council must determine within a month of
receiving the report whether it agrees with the Committee. If it does not, it must
furnish its reasons in writing upon the request of the complainant who may still
apply to a High Court Judge to reverse the Council’s decision. The Council may
still determine that a formal investigation is necessary even though the Inquiry
Committee recommends that it is unnecessary. The Disciplinary Committee is

appointed by the Chief Justice upon the Council’s application. The composition of
the Disciplinary Committee is identical to that of the Inquiry Committee. The lay
member has no voting right. The Disciplinary Committee carries out a formal
investigation and the entire record of the proceedings, including its findings, are
made public. After hearing and investigating any matter referred to it, the
Disciplinary Committee may arrive at one of 3 possible determinations:
(a) no cause of sufficient gravity for disciplinary action exists under section 83;
(b) while no cause of sufficient gravity for disciplinary action exists under that
section the advocate and solicitor should be reprimanded or ordered to pay a
penalty sufficient and appropriate to the misconduct committed; or
(c) cause of sufficient gravity for disciplinary action exists under that section.
If the Disciplinary Committee makes the first determination that no cause of
sufficient gravity for disciplinary action exists, the Society need not take any
further action in the matter unless directed by the High Court or a Judge sitting in
open court. If the Disciplinary Committee makes the second determination that,
while no cause of sufficient gravity for disciplinary action exists, the advocate and
solicitor should be reprimanded or ordered to pay a penalty, the Council shall if it
agrees with the determination, reprimand the advocate and solicitor or order him to
pay a penalty of not more than $10,000 or if it disagrees with the determination,
proceed to make an application to the High Court for an order to show cause why
the lawyer should not be struck off the roll or suspended from practice or censured.
If the Disciplinary Committee makes the third determination that cause of
sufficient gravity for disciplinary action exists, the Society shall proceed to make
an application to the High Court for an order to show cause why the lawyer should
not be struck off the roll or suspended from practice or censured76. The show
cause action is heard by a court of 3 Judges of the Supreme Court from which there

is no appeal. Section 83 of the Legal Profession Act empowers the Supreme Court
to strike advocates and solicitors off the roll, suspend advocates and solicitors from
practice for up to five years, or censure any advocate and solicitor on due cause
being shown. The due cause may be shown by, for example, proof that the lawyer
has been guilty of fraudulent or grossly improper conduct in the discharge of his
professional duty. In certain serious cases, the Inquiry and Disciplinary Committee
stages can be by-passed. An example would be a case where the lawyer has been
convicted or a criminal offence involving fraud or dishonesty.

Thailand
A unified Thai kingdom was established in the mid-14th century. Known as
Siam until 1939, Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country never to have been
taken over by a European power. A bloodless revolution in 1932 led to a
constitutional monarchy. The Kingdom of Thailand or as well-known as
“Thailand” is situated in Southeast Asia bordered by the coastlines, the Andaman
Sea on the west coast and the Gulf of Thailand along the east coast. The word
“Thai” literally means “Free”. Accordingly, Thailand means the land of free.
Thailand is one of the countries that have never been colonized by colonial
domination. Therefore, Thai culture has been developing and polishing for

centuries. Additionally, Thailand is so-called the “land of smiles” which represents
the characteristics and the attitudes of Thai people. They always smile for all
occasions.
LEGAL SYSTEM OF THAILAND
Thailand has a codified system of law or known as civil law system country.
The content of laws derived from laws of other countries with well-developed legal
system. Most content of the law influenced by common law systems countries i.e.
Great Britain. In addition, the code of law in Thailand was also drafted by impact
of countries with codified system of law such as France, Germany and Japan as
well as by effect of traditional and customary law of Thailand in the past.
LEGAL PROFESSION & LEGAL PRACTICE
The legal profession in Thailand can be divided into 3 categories namely:
Thai Judges, Thai Public Prosecutors and Lawyers. Judges in Thailand are
recruited by the judicial commission and are appointed by His Majesty. Besides
having certain qualifications such as is of at least 25 years of age, a candidate must
pass a highly competitive examination given by the judicial commission. Once
recruited, they have to be trained as judge-trainee for at least one year. Those
candidates who complete the training with satisfactory result will be approved by
the judicial commission and tendered to His Majesty the King for royal
appointment to be a judge.
Law graduates intend to be public prosecutors shall have qualifications required
by the Regulation of Public Prosecutor Officers Act B.E. 2521 (A.D. 1978); (i) He
must have a Bachelor’s Degree in law (LLB); (ii) He/She must be a Thai national;

(iii) He must be not less than 25 years of age; (iv) He must pass the Thai Bar
Association as well as the public prosecutor-trainee examination.
After passing prosecutor-trainee examination, they will be called to
participate in training and will be evaluated before appointment as Assistant
District Public Prosecutor. Every public prosecutor-trainee must be trained by the
Attorney-General Office for not less than one year and must be evaluated by the
Public Prosecutor Committee to determine whether he/she has obtained appropriate
knowledge and ability and has appropriate conduct to be appointed as an Assistant
District Public Prosecutor.
Unlike the United Kingdom, lawyers in Thailand are not divided into
barristers and solicitors, nor are they required to pass a bar examination as they
would be in the United States. To become a lawyer, the Lawyers Act B.E. 2528
(AD 1985) defines a lawyer as “a person who has been registered as a lawyer, and
a license has been issued to him or her by the Law Society of Thailand.” Therefore,
no one can become a lawyer or practice law in Thailand without an education in
law, registration, and a license to practice. Most importantly, lawyers in Thailand
are only reserved for Thai nationality. Legal works for lawyers in Thailand varies
and ranges from litigators, legal consultants, in-house legal counsels as well as
legal officials. The vast majority of Thailand's lawyers and law firms are located in
the capitol city of Bangkok. Law firms are generally set up under corporate and
commercial law in types of either corporate, partnership or limited liability
partnership. Law firms range in size from small and solo practices to large firms
which are part of an international network.
LEGAL EDUCATION IN THAILAND

Unlike legal education in the United States, legal education system in
Thailand is an undergraduate program. National University Entrance Examination
conducted nationwide by the Ministry of University Affairs requires for all
undergraduate programs which will be evaluated by a combination of achievement
records from upper secondary school, test scores in main subjects and special
subjects, interview and physical examination. Therefore, students who wish to
attend reputable law schools must pass highly competitive National University
Entrance Examination to earn Bachelor’s Degree in Law or so called the “LLB”.
Law degree programs in law school are Bachelor of law programs (LL.B.),
Master of Law programs (LL.M.) and Doctoral Degree ( Ph.D). Bachelor's Degree
in Law typically requires four years of course work. The course works for first year
classes will be basic core law courses as well as fundamental legal studies which is
quite similar to first year courses in the United States. Later in upper classes, law
students will be able to elect their field of interests. There are numbers of fields of
expertise such as business commercial law, international law, criminal law etc. In
terms of master law degree program, law school offers two types of programs i.e.
Master of Law which is 2-3 years program with thesis requirement and Master of
Law (Business Law) International program which is equivalent to LLM program in
the United States. The LLM program is normally one year program. Lastly, the
Doctoral Degree or Ph.D. will typically takes 3 years and also requires in-depth
thesis paper.
Curriculum
The curriculum of law schools in Thailand is designed by faculty members
who are well experienced in terms of academia, working practice as well as other
aspects such as economy and politics. The curriculum in law school transcends

national boundaries, being cross-national and cross-cultural in character. Thus, to
further enhance the quality of its academic interests and activities to the level of
international criteria and standards and to keep up with rapid advancements, the
university has tried to forge external networks and contacts. This generally
involves formation of academic links with corresponding institutions abroad, with
a view to facilitating academic exchanges and collaborative ventures.
Teaching Method
Since Thailand is a civil law country, then teaching method in law school differs
from those of the United States. Law school classes in Thailand will mainly focus
on code law and teaching approach in law schools in Thailand is not Socratic at all.
Professors tend to structure the class to be merely lecture and discussion style.
Faculty members in law schools mostly graduated abroad especially from welldeveloped legal system countries that greatly influenced Thai legal system such as
the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Germany and Japan. Lectures in
classroom given by law professors are conducted in Thai language. However, there
are also fundamental non-legal and legal English classes for law students
throughout the law degree programs.
At the time of the establishment of the law school in Thailand, average of male law
students are higher. But because of the movement of feminist organization in
Thailand, more educational and professional opportunity had been offered to
women. Nowadays, at least 60% of law students in Bangkok are women.
Due to the fact that law degree program in Thailand is an undergraduate program,
hence, average ages of law students are around 16-21 years of age. In addition, law
degree program in Thailand normally takes around 4 years.

Vietnam
The legal system of Vietnam is based on socialist legal theory, whilst also
partly inherited from the French Civil Legal system. As a result, the Vietnamese
Civil Code of 2005 reflects a European-style civil law code, where the judicial
decisions and jurisprudence do not result in creating law.
The National Assembly is the highest body responsible for lawmaking
activities, and the highest legal document in Vietnam is the Constitution, which
was passed by the National Assembly in 1992. The Constitution sets out the

structure of the legal and political system, such as the relationship between the
governing institutions, as well as the relationship between the institutions and the
people.
The highest court in Vietnam is the Supreme People's Court of Vietnam. The
Supreme People's Court reports to the National Assembly, which controls the
judiciary’s budget and confirms the president’s nominees to the Supreme People's
Court. Below the Supreme People's Court are the District and Provincial People’s
Courts which are the courts of first instance, Military Tribunals, and
Administrative, Economic, and Labour Courts. However, historically Vietnam does
not have a strong litigious culture, and the resolution of disputes has traditionally
taken place through alternative channels. Thus, Vietnamese law emphasizes the
role of alternate dispute resolution in place of litigation.

The Legal Profession
The legal profession is a new phenomenon in Vietnam. Although legal
practice was formally organized by the Government after the independence of
1945, its operation ceased during wartime. With the exception of Ho Chi Minh
City, where legal practice has 140 years of existence, interrupted for 14 years after
1975, the major part of the legal profession was born out of economic reform. The
Ordinance on Lawyers Organization of 1987 was the first legislation issued after
Doi Moi that aimed to organize lawyers and their practice. Even so, the underlying
idea for the regulations was still the socialist concept that views lawyers as a part
of the mechanism employed by the state to govern society. At the same time, the
Ordinance included an ascent idea that recognizes legal services as part of
the emerging market.

The purpose of lawyers’ work was to provide legal supports to citizens, in
which representation at court was the major task. Lawyers were not allowed to
practice as sole practitioners or to establish their own law offices. The results of
government effort to organize lawyers and direct their practice were not
overwhelmingly positive. Ten years after the 1987 Ordinance was issued, Vietnam
had 52 provincial bar associations with approximately 800 lawyers. About 40% of
the lawyers worked on a part-time basis, and most of the remaining 60% were
retired government officials. Non-litigation matters accounted for only 20% of the
total cases handled by the bar association. Rapid market development placed the
Party and the government in a position to further adjust their position in respect of
the legal profession.
New concepts of “judicial supplement” [bo tro tu phap] and “socialization”
[xa hoi hoa] were created in this process.
Judicial supplement was first mentioned in a meeting of the Party in 1997 in
relation to judicial reform. Policy drawn from the meeting stressed that judicial
reform requires the strengthening of judicial supplementary institutions. Among
other things, the government was tasked to renew its state management of
lawyers’ practice in light of socialization policy. This could be done by way of
combining state management with promotion of self-regulation by “professional
associations”. In another document issued in 2001, the Party asserted that the
“judicial system includes the court and the procuracy, police and investigation
authorities, and

other judicial

supplementary

institutions such

as

lawyers’

organizations, public notaries, judicial examination organizations, and legal
consultancy centers.”

Despite its new label, the ingrained idea of Soviet instrumentalist law stays
alive in judicial supplement. Structures such as courts and procuracy are regarded
as the main tools to exercise state judicial power. Meanwhile, as before, other
institutions, including lawyers, are seen as “supplementary” or appendices to these
state agencies. Their job is to provide assistance, support, and to add value to the
work of the judicial authorities so that the latter can better implement state laws.
In this context, lawyers’ practice is presumed to focus on litigation and
representation of clients before the courts. The ultimate purpose of such
representation is to ensure that state law is guarded and well implemented in the
court room. At the same time, the Party and the state realized there was increasing
market demand for non-litigation legal services, and thus were under pressure to
“renew” their approach to manage lawyers. This is where the concept of
socialization comes into play. It refers to a process in which the state transfers parts
of its functions to society. This creates great confusion and is subject to
considerable criticism. Legal services are associated with the emerging private
sector and are developing quickly. Being pragmatic, authorities realized that a
developmental split was occurring within the legal community. More progressive
members have caught up with market development and become professionalized,
while other turned to the government for support. Their reliance created a burden
on the government. Therefore, socialization has been employed to shift part of the
government’s responsibilities to the lawyers’ associations. In other words, the
policy intention is to create a hybrid form of state control and self-regulation.
A new Ordinance on Lawyers was issued in 2001 to replace the 1987 Ordinance.
The purpose of enacting this Ordinance was to respond to increasing market
demand for legal services, and at the same time strengthen state management of the
legal profession. Lawyers were entitled to set up law offices for their practice. Bar
associations were defined as professional associations of lawyers, and a national

self-regulatory body for all lawyers (National Bar Association or NBA) was also
mentioned the first time. The implication of socialization for the legal profession,
however, was not made fully explicit until the Law on Lawyers was issued in 2006,
and the establishment of the NBA was initiated.
The Vietnam Bar Federation (VBF) was formed in 2009, and membership is
available to all lawyers working in Vietnam.
Admission and Qualifications
In order to qualify as a lawyer in Vietnam, lawyers must meet these
qualifications:
(i)

A degree in law at any university which offers law;
(ii)A lawyer training course lasting 12 months which is certificated by the

(iii)

Vietnam Judicial Academy;
A 12 month practical training at any law firm;
(iv) They must pass the national exams and get the lawyer practicing
certificate issued by the Ministry of Justice.
(v) The Bar association of the area in which the lawyer practices issues a
license to the member.

Legal Education
Legal education in Vietnam has a brief, discontinuous history. Legal
doctrines and concepts that serve as foundation for a right-based legal system have
never been formally taught in law schools. What is currently in place is a genuine
product of socialist law training. During the French colonial period, a law school

was established in 1931 in Hanoi.

17

There is no evidence that these early law

graduates served in the legal education system after their graduation. The harsh
war did not allow the Government in the North to emphasize legal processes and
training. There was a judicial training school that belonged to the People’s
Supreme Court, but it focused on training judges on a small scale. The Ministry of
Justice (MOJ) even had to close. In 1979, the Hanoi Law University (HLU) was
established as the first post-colonial tertiary-level law school. There was a law
university in the South before 1975, but it was merged with other schools to form
the Economic University of Ho Chi Minh City in 1976. Again, this new university
did not provide formal law training until 2001. In 1989, HLU opened its branch in
Ho

Chi

Minh

City.

The

founding

teachers

of

this branch were sent from the North and were previously trained in the Eastern
bloc. This branch wasthen separated from HLU and became an independent law
school of the South, the Ho Chi Minh City Law University (HCMCLU). HLU is
the largest law training institution in Vietnam and it is affiliated with the MOJ.
HCMCLU is under the administration of the Ministry of Education and Training
(MOET). Apart from HLU and HCMCLU, there are other multi-disciplinary
universities that offer degrees in different areas, including law, at dedicated law
faculties. Most were established very recently and are of small scale.
By the end of 2008, Vietnam has more than 20 law schools and faculties.
The number of law graduates is approximately 14,000 annually. Law training in
Vietnam appears to be modest. Private universities that provide law education in
Vietnam had to close their programs after a short period of experiment in mid-90s.
17 Tran Bich San, ‘Vietnam Duoi Thoi Phap Thuoc’ [Vietnam Under French Ruling], Co Thom
Magazine FragrantGrassMagazine,<http://cothommagazine.com/index.php?
option=com_content&task=view&id=278&Itemid=49>, accessed on October 20, 2008.

Although regulations allowing legal professional associations to provide
professional training exist; non-governmental players in this area have not been
established yet. This is part of the reason that the legal profession has limited input
into legal training.
Foreign Lawyers
Foreign law firms may still not advise on Vietnamese law, form joint
ventures or other partnership with Vietnamese law firms, or hire experienced
Vietnamese lawyers. Foreign lawyers and law firms are only entitled to advise
clients about foreign an international laws and must therefore sign separate
agreements with Vietnamese counterparts for each case which involves advising on
Vietnamese law. Foreign law firms are also required to have a minimum of two
foreign lawyers per branch office, each with more than five years experience. The
law firms are required to report annually about their organizations and operations
to the Ministry of Justice and the

Only recently have lawyers again been recognized as professionals in Vietnam.
When the Geneva Accords of 1954 temporarily divided Vietnam into two zones,
there were no lawyers in the north. People who identified themselves as lawyers,
were, in reality, state officials and were called, “People’s Defenders”. These people
were paid by the State for their work. Then, in 1975- when North Vietnam and
South Vietnam were united – the north extended its social and political structure to
the south. During the intervening years, the private practice of law ceased to exist.

The launch of the Doi Moi [Renovation] program in 1986 has produced numerous
unprecedented changes in Vietnam during the last two decades. Moving from a
centrally planned to a market-oriented society, the state has defined law as an impo
rtant tool to govern society and to promote economic development. This
transitional period poses great challenges to Vietnam’s legal system, as the changes
brought by Doi Moi need to be handled by qualified, experienced legal
professionals. The legal profession of Vietnam is regulated by the Ministry of
Justice and by the various bar societies in each province. However,

Foreign Lawyers
Vietnam joined the World Trade Organization in 2007 and has made specific
commitments for legal services. Provided, they register with the Ministry of
Justice, foreign law firms can operate in Vietnam in the following ways:

(i) As a branch of foreign lawyers' organization;
(ii)As a subsidiary of a foreign lawyers' organization;
(iii)
As a foreign law firm;
(iv)

As a partnership between a foreign lawyers' organization and a

Vietnamese law partnership

Foreign Lawyers can practice in Vietnam by:

(i)

Submitting a written account of request for a Practising License in Vietnam
to Ministry of Justice;

(ii)

The account must include certification that they are qualified in a foreign
jurisdiction, that they belong to a foreign lawyers organization designated to
practice the legal profession in Viet Nam or papers certifying recruitment by a
Vietnam-based foreign lawyer’s profession-practicing organization;

(iii)

After receiving these documents and the required fee, the Ministry of Justice

can grant the Practicing License in Vietnam to the foreign lawyer. If the Ministry
of Justice refuses to do so, it is required to give notice in writing.

While other areas of higher education in Vietnam are generally subject to state
guidance on education, legal training is first and foremost shaped by law
development policies. Likewise, it is those policies that play a significant role in
determining how the legal profession is shaped. Hence, to understand the nature of
legal education and the legal profession in Vietnam, it is essential to view them in
the context of the overall legal system.
Similar to China, Vietnam’s current legal structure is built on the foundation of
Soviet ideologies.2
Among other things, the class nature of state and law and legal consciousness are
two important canons that shape legal education and legal profession. Law is
defined as “a system of norms that are codified and enforced by the state. It
represents the will of the ruling class and is an instrument to adjust social
relations”.3 Because the Communist Party is the leader of the ruling class, Party
supremacy over stat eand law is the guiding principle.4 It is the Party that provides
instructions on the formation of laws and that uses law as an instrument to
govern society. Since the law reflects the Party and the state’s interests, it is
important that such interests are respected by the masses. The idea of legal
consciousness is therefore derived from the belief that people need to be educated
in order to obey state law. It aims toincrease people’s awareness about legal norms,
loyalty and trust to the values of suchnorms, thus eventually securing compliance
with the law. Improving legal consciousness is an on-going task of the Party and
the state. It is conducted in various forms, including law training and legal
practice.5
Socialist legal thoughts, however, is not the only source of guidance that informs
legal development in Vietnam. As Gillespie noted, these ideas have been mixed
with neo-Confucian and traditional moral principles in the localization process.

6 Recent market liberalization also urges the Party to borrow Western legal
concepts especially in relation to commercial laws. While Soviet ideas and
Confucian values are essential to the Party’s supremacy, the success of utilizing
Western norms to guide economic development helpsensure its legitimacy. Now
the objective of reform requires a tough balance
between political stability and economic integration. All these features are reflecte
d in thedevelopment of legal education and the legal profession.

Legal Profession
The launch of the Doi Moi [Renovation] program in 1986 has produced
numerous unprecedented changes in Vietnam during the last two decades. Moving
from

a

centrally planned to a market

oriented society,

the state has defined law as an important tool to govern society and to promote
economic development. This transitional period poses great challenges to
Vietnam’s legal system, as the changes brought by Doi Moi need to be handled by
qualified, experienced legal professionals. Vietnam has a relatively young
structural organization of its legislature and legal profession. Lawyers were not
considered to be 'professionals' until the last decade.

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Legal

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The

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http://vietnamese-law

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