Law firms are now recognised as essential services and are now allowed to resume their office operations during the "total lockdown" under the current movement control order in Malaysia.
This was revealed today in a circular issued by the Bar Council and emailed to lawyers today.
According to a copy of the circular sighted by Malaysiakini, the Legal Affairs Division of the Prime Minister’s Department (BHEUU) had issued revised standard operating procedures (SOPs) dated yesterday for the current MCO.
“The revised SOPs confirms that law firms are recognised as essential services, regardless of area of expertise and are allowed to operate effective June 29, 2021, subject to the conditions stated there,” the circular said.
The Bar said that lawyers can apply online to the Ministry for International Trade and Industry's Covid-19 Intelligent Management System 3.0 (CIMS 3.0) and approval should be given within 24 hours, among others.
The Bar also informed lawyers that no supporting documents are required when making the application and that upon approval, applicants can print out the approval letter and that police permits are not required, among others.
Previously, the Bar had written to the government seeking for all law firms to be allowed to resume at partial capacity to safeguard the people’s access to proper legal representation.
During the total lockdown that is part of the current MCO 3.0, legal firms were then generally not considered essential services and were to remain closed as part of wide-ranging measures to combat the spread of Covid-19. These included law firms that specialised in criminal cases.
On June 1, Malaysiakini reported on the concerns raised by lawyers that the general closure of law firms nationwide during the total lockdown period may jeopardise detainees’ ability to obtain proper legal representation.
Then on June 2, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Parliament and Law) Takiyuddin Hassan said that only law firms involved in corporate legal services and conveyancing for essential services could apply for permission to operate during the total lockdown, together with the companies, factories or essential services-related businesses they represented.
Takiyuddin also said that only lawyers representing clients who are facing new charges, remand order applications and criminal case applications were allowed to appear in court during the total lockdown period.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that the government had allowed lawyers to apply for three-day temporary access to law firms’ offices to settle administrative work.
Several lawyers that Malaysiakini spoke to today confirmed having received the latest Bar circular on all law firms relabelled as essential services and allowed to resume operations during the present total lockdown.
Among them were Syed Iskandar Syed Jaafar al-Mahdzar, who expressed his appreciation to the government for listening to the concerns of legal practitioners over the issue of people’s proper access to legal representation during the current total lockdown.
In agreement was another lawyer, M Visvanathan, who said the latest move would boost lawyers’ ability to provide better legal representation to their clients, especially those facing criminal cases.
“Access to justice must not be hampered in any way. It (law firm operations) must be considered as essential services,” said the legal practitioner who represented multiple clients for death in custody cases. - Mkini
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