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Bar Council panel to review syllabus

Thursday, 15 May 2008 10:32am

©New Straits Times (Used by permission)

KUALA LUMPUR: The Bar Council has set up an ad hoc committee to look into the course content for the proposed Common Bar Course.

Its secretary, Lim Chee Wee, said the course content should be developed to ensure all new lawyers were equipped with adequate legal skills.

However, he said, the council was mindful that the implementation of the CBC would take some time.

Lim said the council had been advocating the setting up of a CBC since 1993 as a single entry point into the legal profession for all law graduates, be it foreign or local.

"We support the move announced by the minister."

Lim said the present chambering requirement, of nine months with a lawyer of more than seven years experience, must be maintained.

Meanwhile, lawyer Yeo Yang Poh said the CBC will set the same requirement standards for lawyers who want to practice.

"It is a good step forward compared to the existing system," said Yeo, who was also former Bar Council president.

Another lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad in welcoming the move said there was disparity in the standard even among graduates from different universities within the country.

"The quality of graduates churned out is important because they will fill positions in the judicial and legal service."

Amer said the government should also look into the workings of the Bar Vocational Course in the United Kingdom which produced quality judicial officers.

He said the current certificate of legal practice examination was too academic and had ignored the practical aspects.

"There must be balance between theory and practical," he added.