Legal board drops 2 law degrees from down under

However, degrees of nine new universities in UK and Australia have been accepted as a qualification for lawyers taking the CLP examination.

The Legal Profession Qualifying Board said the decision was made after a periodic evaluation of universities in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

PETALING JAYA:

 Law degrees from two universities in Australia and New Zealand will no longer be accepted from Jan 1 next year as a qualification for lawyers sitting for the Certificate in Legal Practice examination.

The two universities are the University of Adelaide and the University of Waikato. The decision does not affect students who have already registered for these courses before that date.

Degrees of nine new universities in the UK and Australia have been accepted from Jan 1 this year, the Legal Profession Qualifying Board said in a notice last week.

They are City St George’s, University of London, Durham University, Lancaster University, Newcastle University, Swansea University, Teesside University, the University of Law and University of York (all in the UK), and the University of New England in Australia.

Board secretary Zamri Bakar stated that the decision came after a periodic evaluation of universities in the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand, whose graduates with LLB degrees must pass the CLP exam before qualifying to practise law in Malaysia.

He said the review was part of the board’s periodic measures to ensure that the recognised law degrees are aligned with the standards and requirements of the legal profession in Malaysia. - FMT