Press Statement on the Disciplinary Board and Disciplining of Lawyers
Thursday, 09 October 2003 12:00am
The Bar Council wishes to express its extreme disappointment with the remarks made by Dato’ Seri Dr. Rais Yatim yesterday in relation to the disciplinary functions of the Bar Council. The said remarks are factually incorrect and inaccurate from the standpoint of its current procedure for the disciplining of lawyers.
According to newspaper report (NST, 9/10/03), Datuk Seri Dr. Rais Yatim has remarked that the Bar Council is continuing to “ignore members’ disciplinary problems”. The basis (if any) of the Minister’s comment is not made known.
It should be pointed out that, since 1992, the function of disciplining lawyers has been vested in the Disciplinary Board, which operates independently of the Bar Council and the Malaysian Bar (though funded by the latter). Statistics provided by the Disciplinary Board shows that it is currently (especially since 2001) disposing of more and more cases than previously, which trend will no doubt see the clearing of backlog.
Thus, the Minister’s statement that the Bar Council ignores issues of lawyers’ discipline is factually misplaced. On the contrary, the Bar Council views lawyers’ discipline very seriously, and has not been hesitant to refer complaints to the Disciplinary Board against members of the Bar, even for minor breaches. For example, todate 1232 cases have been referred by the Bar Council to the Disciplinary Board relating to members who delayed in their applications for practising certificates.
It should also be pointed out that only a small portion of complaints relate to allegations of dishonesty. Nevertheless, the Bar Council pays attention to this category of complaints, and has in appropriate cases invoked the provisions of S.94(4) of the Legal Profession Act 1976 to seek suspension of the lawyers concerned.
The Bar Council is continuously finding better ways to deal with the disciplining of lawyers, and has from time to time given its input and suggestions (to the Disciplinary Board and other authorities) on the same. The most recent example is a request from the Bar Council to Bank Negara Malaysia to look into the possibility of an “early warning system” whereby Bank Negara Malaysia may authorise that Bar Council be immediately informed if any lawyer’s cheque is dishonoured due to insufficiency of funds.
Further the Bar Council is now taking steps to computerise and set up a database on lawyers in default, which would be on-line with the database of the Disciplinary Board.
It is more than evident that the Bar Council discharges its duty in regulating lawyers’ discipline. It is also clear that the Disciplinary Board is endeavouring to clear backlog and to dispose of cases in a speedy manner which does not however overlook the importance of giving the lawyers/respondents concerned adequate opportunity to defend themselves.
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International Malaysia Law Conference (26 to 28 Sept 2012) Hurry up! The countdown continues and the current promotion rate ends 30 June 2012. Don't miss what is going to be the best conference in the region! On top of that, if you sign up with 5 or more people from the same organisation, we will give you a 10% group discount. Click on the link above to register.
Talk on Summary Judgement (25 May 2012) Organised by the Selangor Bar Committee, this talk will take place at 5:00 pm, at the Selangor Bar Committee Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). The talk will be conducted by Ramesh Supramanian. Click on the link above for more details.
Seminar on Tax Issues in Financial Transactions (25 May 2012) Organised by the Kuala Lumpur Bar Professional Development Committee, this seminar, featuring S Saravana Kumar, will take place at 3:00 pm, at the Kuala Lumpur Bar Auditorium, on 25 May 2012 (Friday). Click on the link above for more details.
Dialogue with Criminal Law Practitioners (26 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council, this dialogue will take place at 10:00 am to 12:00 pm, at the Raja Aziz Addruse Auditorium, Bar Council, on 26 May 2012 (Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
Conference on Competition Law (31 May 2012) Organised by Bar Council with the support of LexisNexis, this conference will take place at 8:30 am to 4:00 pm, at Renaissance Kuala Lumpur Hotel, on 31 May 2012 (Thursday). For more details or to register, please contact Vilashini Vijayan (03-2050 2095; vila@malaysianbar.org.my). Click on the link above for more details.
Talk on What Clients Want (7 June 2012) Organised by the KL Bar Practitioners' Affairs Committee, the talk, presented by Ong Eu Jin, will take place at 5:00 pm, at the KL Bar Auditorium, on 7 June 2012 (Thursday). Click on the link above for more details.
4th LAWASIA Family Law Conference, Penang (13 and 14 July 2012) Supported by Penang Bar Committee and the Malaysian Bar, this conference, themed “The New Global Family: Emerging Trends and Challenges to Family Practice”, will take place at Traders Hotel, Penang, on 13 and 14 July 2012 (Friday and Saturday). Click on the link above for more details.
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