SEREMBAN: A senior lawyer has filed a suit against the Bar Council over a
rule which compels lawyers to disclose their transactions with their clients.
In his affidavit, filed in the High Court here yesterday,
Seah Choon Chye, 65, said Rule 4 (2) of the Solicitors’ Remuneration
(Enforcement) Rules 2004 (SRER) is contrary to the principle of the right to
legal confidentiality as fortified by Rule 35(b) of the Legal Profession
(Practice and Etiquette) Rules 1978.
Under Rule 4 of SRER, lawyers must produce documents to prove they have complied
with the Solicitors’ Remuneration Order (SRO) or any other rules or rulings of
the Bar Council relating to the SRO.
He said without his clients’ consent, he has no authority to disclose such
information to a third party, and a breach of confidentiality would expose him
to possible legal action.
At the time he received a notice from the Bar Council secretary in 2005 to
submit the documents or face disciplinary action, there had been no complaints
that he may have breached the SRO.
He also said that the SRER violates Section 97 of the Banking
and Financial Institutions Act 1989 (BAFIA), which prohibits solicitors,
appointed by banks to handle loan documentation, to disclose any information
relating to their customers’ accounts.
His suit also claims that only the Solicitors Cost Committee has the right to
regulate remuneration under Section 113 of the Legal Profession Act 1976.
Besides the Bar Council, the Attorney-General and the Negri Sembilan Bar
Committee were named in the suit.
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Circular No 110/2012: Seminar on Introduction to ICC Arbitration: An Insight into the 2012 ICC Rules
