PART I | Citation and purpose of these Rules |
1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the Legal Profession (Qualified Persons) Rules.(2) These Rules —| (a) | set out the qualifications and requirements that a person has to possess and satisfy in order to be a qualified person under paragraph (a) of the definition of “qualified person” in section 2(1) of the Act; | | (b) | set out the classes of qualified persons to whom section 12(2)(b) of the Act applies; | | (c) | set out, in respect of each class of qualified persons to whom section 12(2)(b) of the Act applies, the time within which a qualified person belonging to that class is required to make his application under section 12(2) of the Act to be admitted as an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court; and | | (d) | provide for the matters referred to in section 14(4) of the Act. [S 243/2011 wef 03/05/2011] |
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2. In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires —| “accelerated course” means a course of study that is commenced and completed within a period of less than 3 academic years; [S 243/2011 wef 03/05/2011] |
“approved twinning programme” —| (a) | means a twinning programme —| (i) | which leads to —| (A) | any degree specified in the First Schedule which is conferred on or after 1st January 1997; | | (B) | any degree specified in the Third Schedule which is conferred on or after 28th July 2003; | | (C) | any degree specified in the Fourth Schedule which is conferred on or after 1st August 2005; or | | (D) | any degree specified in the Fifth Schedule which is conferred on or after 1st January 2004; and |
| | (ii) | the teaching of which is undertaken partly by the institution of higher learning which confers that degree and partly by —| (A) | if that degree is conferred on or after 1st January 1997 but before 28th July 2003, one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First Schedule and the National University of Singapore; | | (B) | if that degree is conferred on or after 28th July 2003 but before 1st January 2004, one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First and Third Schedules and the National University of Singapore; | | (C) | if that degree is conferred on or after 1st January 2004 but before 1st August 2005, one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Third and Fifth Schedules and the National University of Singapore; | | (D) | if that degree is conferred on or after 1st August 2005 but before 1st April 2008, one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules and the National University of Singapore; or | | (E) | if that degree is conferred on or after 1st April 2008, one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules, the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University; and |
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| | (b) | includes any such programme —| (i) | a component of which is an official student exchange programme offered by the institution of higher learning which confers that degree; or | | (ii) | for which a candidate is given credit on account of any relevant diploma in law or relevant non-law degree attained by him prior to his admission as such candidate; [S 243/2011 wef 03/05/2011] |
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| “combined degree” means any single degree that relates to any 2 or more different disciplines of study, such as a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Information Technology or a Bachelor’s Degree in Law and Accountancy; |
| “combined degree course” means a course of study that leads to the conferment of a combined degree; |
| “degree of Bachelor of Laws” means any degree or qualification in law, by whatever name called, which is conferred on a person by any institution of higher learning upon that person having successfully completed a course in law conducted by that institution of higher learning; |
| “Diploma in Singapore Law” means the Diploma in Singapore Law conferred by the National University of Singapore before 1st September 2009; |
| “dual degrees” means any 2 or more separate degrees, each relating to a different discipline of study, that are conferred upon a person upon his successfully completing a dual degree course; |
| “dual degree course” means a course of study that leads to the conferment of dual degrees, such as a course of study that leads to the conferment of both the degree of Bachelor of Laws and the degree of Bachelor of Accountancy; |
“full-time internal candidate” does not include —| (a) | a part-time candidate, an external candidate or a self-study candidate; or | | (b) | a candidate under —| (i) | any correspondence course; or | | (ii) | any twinning programme other than an approved twinning programme; |
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| “Legal Service Officer” means an officer in the Singapore Legal Service; [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
| “Malayan practitioner” means any person entitled to practise before a High Court in any part of West Malaysia; [S 243/2011 wef 03/05/2011] |
“National University of Singapore” means —| (a) | in relation to any event occurring before 1st April 2006, the National University of Singapore established under the repealed National University of Singapore Act (Cap. 204, 2002 Ed.); or | | (b) | in relation to any event occurring on or after 1st April 2006, the university known as the “National University of Singapore” operated, maintained and promoted by the company limited by guarantee incorporated under the Companies Act (Cap. 50) under the name “National University of Singapore”; [S 331/2009 wef 01/04/2006] |
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“Part A of the Singapore Bar Examinations” means Part A of the Singapore Bar Examinations conducted —| (a) | before 3rd May 2011, by the National University of Singapore; or | | (b) | on or after 3rd May 2011, by the Institute or by any institution of higher learning appointed by the Board of Directors of the Institute; [S 243/2011 wef 03/05/2011] |
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| “relevant diploma in law” means a diploma in law, by whatever name called, which is conferred on a person by a polytechnic in Singapore upon that person having successfully completed a course in law conducted by that polytechnic; [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
“relevant legal officer” means —| (a) | a Legal Service Officer; or | | (b) | a legal officer of —| (i) | the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore; | | (ii) | the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore; | | (iii) | the Singapore Land Authority; | | (iv) | the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore; or | | (v) | the National Environment Agency; [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
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“relevant legal practice or work” means —| (a) | active practice as —| (i) | a legal practitioner, by whatever name called, in any jurisdiction other than Singapore; or | | (ii) | a foreign lawyer in Singapore; or |
| | (b) | work of a legal nature which is performed as a legal counsel in any corporation or other entity the equity securities of which are listed on the official list of a securities exchange in Singapore or elsewhere; [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
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“relevant legal training” means —| (a) | any supervised training in relation to the practice of Singapore law received, prior to becoming a qualified person, under a formal training arrangement with a Singapore law practice; | | (b) | any supervised training received, prior to becoming a qualified person, as a pupil, or through reading in the chambers, of a practising barrister of the United Kingdom or of a member of the Faculty of Advocates in Scotland of more than 7 years’ standing; or | | (c) | any supervised training in relation to the practice of foreign law received, prior to becoming a qualified person, under a formal training arrangement with a foreign law practice; [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
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| “relevant non-law degree” means any degree in any discipline of study other than law which is conferred on a person by an institution of higher learning (being an institution of higher learning specified in the First, Third, Fourth or Fifth Schedule, the National University of Singapore or the Singapore Management University) upon that person having successfully completed a course in that discipline of study conducted by that institution of higher learning as a full-time internal candidate of that institution of higher learning; [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
“twinning programme” —| (a) | means a course of study leading to a degree or qualification the teaching of which is undertaken —| (i) | partly by the institution of higher learning which confers that degree or qualification and partly by any other institution of higher learning; or | | (ii) | wholly by another institution of higher learning or jointly by several institutions of higher learning in conjunction with the institution of higher learning which confers that degree or qualification; but |
| | (b) | does not include —| (i) | any course of study leading to a degree or qualification, a component of which is an official student exchange programme offered by the institution of higher learning which confers that degree or qualification, and the teaching of which is otherwise undertaken wholly by that institution of higher learning; and | | (ii) | any course of study leading to a degree or qualification, the teaching of which is undertaken wholly by the institution of higher learning which confers that degree or qualification, and for which a candidate is given credit on account of any relevant diploma in law or relevant non-law degree attained by him prior to his admission as such candidate. [S 243/2011 wef 03/05/2011] [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
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| Date of admission as candidate for degree of Bachelor of Laws |
| 3. For the purposes of these Rules, the date on which a person is admitted by any institution of higher learning as a candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Laws (whether or not such degree is to be conferred on its own or as a component of any combined degree or dual degrees) shall be the date on which he secures a place as a candidate for the course of study conducted by that institution of higher learning that leads to the conferment of the degree of Bachelor of Laws. |
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