LEGAL PROFESSION (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

4.10 p.m.

The Minister for Law and the Environment (Mr E. W. Barker): Mr Speaker, Sir, I beg to move, "That the Bill be now read a Second time."

Sir, under the existing provision of section 36 of the Legal Profession Act (Chapter 217), any full-time member of the academic staff of the Faculty of Law of the University of Singapore is only permitted to act in an advisory capacity when he is instructed by a practising advocate and solicitor. This has resulted in narrowing the scope of advisory work of University law teachers. The Bill now before this House seeks to remove this limitation, so that persons wishing to seek legal opinions or advice from our University law teachers may do so without going through practising advocates and solicitors, and thus enable greater use to be made of the advisory services which our University law teachers can offer, especially in the fields of law in which they have specialised knowledge.

The removal of the limitation made under the Bill cannot, however, apply to all University law teachers but only to those who are "qualified persons" within the meaning of the Legal Profession Act. A "qualified person" as defined in section 2 of the Act briefly means an LLB graduate of our University or a person who is professionally qualified as a barrister or solicitor in the United Kingdom. It is necessary to impose this requirement since there may be University law teachers who are not qualified persons within the meaning of the Act, and it is not the intention to accord such persons, whether within or outside the University, this special right to render legal opinions or act in an advisory capacity.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole House.

The House immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill-[Mr E.W. Barker].

Bill considered in Committee.

[Mr Speaker in the Chair]

Clause 1 ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Clause 2 -

Mr Barker: Sir, I beg to move,

In page 1, line 10, to leave out "advisory service" and insert "acting in an advisory capacity".

Sir, this amendment has been suggested by the Council of the Law Society to make it clearer that a full-time member of the academic staff of the Faculty of Law of the University of Singapore who is a qualified person can only act in an advisory capacity and not in any other capacity of a practising advocate and solicitor, for instance. appearing in court.

Amendment agreed to.

Clause 2, as amended, ordered to stand part of the Bill.

Bill reported with an amendment, read a Third time and passed.