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; and [S 492/2015 wef 17/08/2015] | | (b) | provide for the matters referred to in section 11C(4) of the Act. [S 492/2015 wef 17/08/2015] [S 595/2024 wef 17/07/2024] | | (c) | [Deleted by S 492/2015 wef 17/08/2015] | | (d) | [Deleted by S 492/2015 wef 17/08/2015] |
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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 of Bachelor of Laws specified in the First Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 January 1997; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (AA) | [Deleted by S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (B) | any degree of Bachelor of Laws specified in the Second Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 January 1997 but before 1 January 2025; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (C) | any degree of Bachelor of Laws specified in the Third Schedule that is conferred on or after 28 July 2003; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (D) | any degree of Bachelor of Laws specified in the Fourth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 August 2005; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (E) | any degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence specified in the First, Third or Fourth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 December 2017; or [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (F) | any degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence specified in the Fifth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 January 2004; and [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] |
| | (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 a degree of Bachelor of Laws conferred on or after 1 January 1997 but before 28 July 2003 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First and Second Schedules and the National University of Singapore; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (B) | if that degree is a degree of Bachelor of Laws conferred on or after 28 July 2003 but before 1 January 2004 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second and Third Schedules and the National University of Singapore; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (C) | if that degree is a degree of Bachelor of Laws conferred on or after 1 January 2004 but before 1 August 2005 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third and Fifth Schedules and the National University of Singapore; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (D) | if that degree is a degree of Bachelor of Laws conferred on or after 1 August 2005 but before 1 April 2008 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules and the National University of Singapore; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (E) | if that degree is a degree of Bachelor of Laws conferred on or after 1 April 2008 but before 1 August 2016 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules, the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (F) | if that degree is a degree of Bachelor of Laws conferred on or after 1 August 2016 but before 1 January 2025 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules, the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Management University and the Singapore University of Social Sciences (formerly known as the SIM University); [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (G) | if that degree is a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence specified in the First, Third or Fourth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 December 2017 but before 1 January 2025 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules, the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Management University and the Singapore University of Social Sciences; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (H) | if that degree is a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence specified in the Fifth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 January 2004 but before 1 August 2005 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third and Fifth Schedules and the National University of Singapore; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (I) | if that degree is a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence specified in the Fifth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 August 2005 but before 1 April 2008 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules and the National University of Singapore; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (J) | if that degree is a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence specified in the Fifth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 April 2008 but before 1 August 2016 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules, the National University of Singapore and the Singapore Management University; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (K) | if that degree is a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence specified in the Fifth Schedule that is conferred on or after 1 August 2016 but before 1 January 2025 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules, the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Management University and the Singapore University of Social Sciences; or [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] | | (L) | if that degree is conferred on or after 1 January 2025 — one or more of the other institutions of higher learning specified in the First, Third, Fourth and Fifth Schedules, the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Management University and the Singapore University of Social Sciences; and [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] |
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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, other than a degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence, 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; [S 677/2017 wef 01/12/2017] |
| [Deleted by S 492/2015 wef 17/08/2015] |
| “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; [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] |
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| [Deleted by S 492/2015 wef 17/08/2015] |
| [Deleted by S 595/2024 wef 17/07/2024] |
“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 1967 under the name “National University of Singapore”; [S 331/2009 wef 01/04/2006] [S 595/2024 wef 31/12/2021] |
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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] |
| [Deleted by S 492/2015 wef 16/03/2015] |
“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; [S 595/2024 wef 17/07/2024] | | (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; or [S 331/2009 wef 31/07/2009] [S 595/2024 wef 17/07/2024] | | (d) | any supervised training in relation to the practice of Singapore law —| (i) | through working —| (A) | as a Judicial Service Officer or a Legal Service Officer (or both); or | | (B) | under the supervision of a relevant legal officer (called in this paragraph a qualifying relevant legal officer) who is an advocate and solicitor of not less than 5 years’ standing and who, for a total of not less than 5 out of the 7 years immediately preceding the date of commencement of the supervised training, has been a relevant legal officer or has been in active practice in a Singapore law practice or both; |
| | (ii) | through working under the supervision of 2 or more qualifying relevant legal officers; or | | (iii) | partly through working as a Judicial Service Officer or a Legal Service Officer (or both) and partly through working under the supervision of one or more qualifying relevant legal officers; [S 595/2024 wef 17/07/2024] |
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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, Second, Third, Fourth or Fifth Schedule, the National University of Singapore, the Singapore Management University or the Singapore University of Social Sciences (formerly known as the SIM 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] [S 492/2015 wef 17/08/2015] [S 354/2016 wef 01/08/2016] [S 515/2017 wef 15/09/2017] |
“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] |
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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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