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No. of Members present : 3,243

Motion 1

NOTING that the Legal Profession (Amendment) Bill 2006 has been passed by the Dewan Rakyat and Dewan Negara very recently and is awaiting the Royal Assent and Gazette Notification to bring the amendments into force;

FURTHER NOTING that members of the Bar were not consulted on the several wide ranging amendments contained in the Bill and did not, therefore have an opportunity to give their views or to be heard on those amendments.

AND NOTING FURTHER that save for the repeal of the restriction on the election to the Bar Council and the Bar Committees of any advocate and solicitor of less then seven years standing under Section 46A(1)(a) and the reduction of the quorum under Section 67 (both of which have the full support of members of the Bar), the amendments have far reaching implications affecting members over disciplinary measures and procedures and, in removing the right of judicial review of any decision or order of the Disciplinary Board, would undermine the rule of law which the Bar has consistently upheld and promoted.

IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED:

1) That the Bar Council request the appropriate authorities in the Government to bring into force immediately only those amendments having the full support of the Malaysian Bar [i.e. the repeal of the restriction on the election to the Bar Council and the Bar Committees of any advocate and solicitor of less than seven years standing under Section 46A(1)(a) and the reduction of the quorum under Sections 67], but to put on hold for the time being the other amendments.

2) That the Bar Council set up an adhoc committee consisting of not more than seven senior members of the Malaysian Bar to carry out an in depth study of the implications of the amendments on the Malaysian Bar and the legal profession and, for that purpose, to receive and consider such representations as may be made to it on the amendments.

3) That the adhoc committee advise the Bar Council within six weeks as to which of the amendments should or should not be brought into force.

4) That the Bar Council thereafter recommend to the competent authorities accordingly.

Proposer: YM Raja Aziz Addruse
Seconder: Dato’ Param Cumaraswamy

Resolution:

The Motion was carried by an overwhelming majority.