The Legal Profession Qualifying Board (LPQB) has formed a new task force to carry out an eight-month study on the Common Bar Course (CBC), a long-delayed proposal to replace the current legal qualifying exam known as the Certificate in Legal Practice (CLP).
The task force will begin its study on Aug 1, deputy law and institutional reform minister M Kulasegaran told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He said the task force would comprise experts from public and private universities, along with representatives from the Bar Council, and would design the course’s syllabus, teaching methods, and assessment standards.
Kulasegaran said that from July 5 to July 10, officials from the LPQB, which is headed by the attorney-general, visited the UK to study how the Bar Training Course was being run.
The officials met with representatives of institutions like the UK’s Bar Standards Board, Solicitors Regulation Authority, Legal Services Board, University of Law, City Law School, and Lincoln’s Inn, who shared insight on course regulation, curriculum design, and student assessment.
The CBC is meant to provide a more practical and modern legal training programme for law graduates, similar to the Bar Training Course in the UK.
“The current CLP exam is fully written, but the CBC will include skills-based assessments and practical training in areas like criminal litigation, advocacy, ethics, opinion writing, and conference skills,” Kulasegaran said in response to S Kesavan (PH-Sungai Siput), who had asked for an update on the CBC’s implementation.
In a supplementary question, Kesavan asked why the CBC had not been introduced despite being discussed as far back as 2001, and why there was no timeframe for its implementation.
Kulasegaran, a lawyer by training, replied that the delay was unacceptable.
“This is a question that is always asked, why has it taken more than 25 years? Are we just reviewing and reviewing without end? We have now given a clear push to the LPQB under the Madani government.
“The implementation must be expedited for the benefit of law graduates,” he said.
The CBC is a proposed training course for all law graduates, both local and foreign-trained.
It is meant to replace or improve the current CLP system, which has been criticised as too academic and not reflective of real world legal practice.
At present, law graduates from universities outside of Malaysia and some local private institutions must pass the CLP to qualify for pupillage and be called to the Bar.
