CLP out, Common Bar Course in
The recent statement made by our Law Minister that the government is considering replacing the Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP) with a Common Bar Course is definitely a great move.
This issue is close to my heart, being a CLP candidate myself and having previously written on this topic.
There are many flaws and drawbacks in the CLP system, and despite much-needed reform, nothing has come close to improvement. So, as you are reading this, you might be wondering what the CLP is and why it is such a big hoo-ha for an exam.
Every aspiring lawyer who holds a foreign law degree has to sit for the CLP exams to become a qualified lawyer in Malaysia. Why only foreign graduates and how about graduates from local universities, you might ask.
Yes, local university graduates are exempt after obtaining their bachelor’s degree.
Why? The rationale is that foreign graduates do not study Malaysian law in their courses.
Though this might sound logical, how can there be uniformity, quality and transparency when there are different exams for students from local universities, semi-government universities and foreign law graduates?
As Lady Justice best illustrates, the law should be blind. How can the law be trusted to be carried out justly if the precursor to the law is itself not blind but discriminatory of where one is educated?
The low pass rate and quota system that is in place ruins many people’s dreams of becoming a lawyer.
Some might give up after their second attempt and others might have exhausted all four attempts.
This CLP exam is one of the most arduous and toughest of exams, with candidates required to pass all five subjects in one go.
This does not dictate whether he or she can cope with the practical world out there. As the CLP is over-reliant on memorisation and regurgitation, passing an exam at one go does not decide or dictate one’s practical or drafting skills.
When one is practising, researching and reading can be done as different issues arise on a case-to-case basis. Hence, the rigid rules of passing all five papers at one attempt shall not be the sole determining factor of one’s future – to be a practising lawyer.
CLP is mainly exam-based, so while it no doubt enhances one’s knowledge and understanding of the subject-matter, it does not guarantee one is well-prepared when stepping out into the practical world.
It is thus crucial to set the priorities straight and make things right with the reform of Common Bar Course and by scrapping Certificate of Legal Practice (CLP).
We need a new system where every law graduate, whether local or overseas, from public or private institution has to go through the same Common Bar Course. This would ensure a certain standard and skills in each and every law graduate.
In the UK, every student has to go through either the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC) or Legal Practice Course (LPC).
Further, it is important to establish an independent committee to peruse the sylla- bus, decide on a set framework of exam questions, introduce the practical element (i.e drafting, mooting, advocacy) in the area of both criminal and civil law, and enforce a consistency of criteria and standards.
I believe that gaining this experience would assist students in deciding which area they are more passionate about and which field they would like to enter as a lawyer.
Since what we are used to studying in the THE STAR, WEDNESDAY 21 NOVEMBER 2018 books is way different from its real-world practice, it is always good to have that opportunity to explore from the beginning.
One hopes that in introducing a Common Bar Course for every law undergraduate, none shall get an exemption, and that each and every law graduate shall go through the same process with practical elements.