The Bar Council has submitted a memorandum to the government seeking a dialogue over the provisions of the Academy of Law Bill 2002 which its 10,000-strong members have strenuously opposed.

The 12-page memorandum, a copy of which was obtained by malaysiakini , listed down the grounds for rejecting the draft proposal which garnered unanimous support from the country's lawyers, including their counterparts in Sabah and Sarawak.

Bar Council vice-chairperson Kuthubul Zaman Bukhari, accompanied by executive director Catherine Eu, delivered the document to Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Dr Rais Yatim in Putrajaya on June 14.

The de facto law minister's senior aide, Ibrahim Che Mat, received it in his absence.

The tabling of the Bill, initially scheduled for the current session of parliament, has been deferred to September.

When contacted today, Kuthubul Zaman said the postponement as announced in the Dewan Rakyat yesterday was a "temporary reprieve".

"We want a continuous dialogue with the government before the Bill is tabled in parliament because the second draft is worse than the first one.

"For the first draft in 2001, we had our reservations over certain provisions. But for the present Bill, we totally reject it."

Usurpation of Council's powers

One example he cited was the proposal for compulsory membership in the present draft. Another is the almost negligible representation of the Malaysian Bar in the academy, despite its large membership.

Kuthubul Zaman noted that similar resolutions were passed by the Sarawak and Sabah counterparts.

"They, too, have requested continuous dialogues with the government on the issue," he said, adding that the Bar Council's special committee is working on the next step pending the government's response.

According to the Bar Council's memorandum, the most objectionable provision of the Bill is the usurpation of the Council's rule-making and disciplinary functions already established under the Legal Profession Act 1976.

Lawyers also object to the compulsory nature of the Bill in terms of membership and subscription payment without any right to resign as members.

The memorandum described the Bill as undemocratic and autocratic because the Academy's members are required to subscribe for privileges that are determined by the senate, an appointed panel which is not even accountable to them.

Conflict of interests

Other objectionable grounds include executive interference, lack of accountability and transparency, elitism, and a conflict of interest and duty.

The memorandum also stated that the combined effect of the above undermined the independence of the judiciary and the Malaysian Bar.

It is learnt that the Bar Council will meet Attorney-General Abdul Gani Patail over the Bill soon.

First mooted by Rais in early 2000, the proposal seeks, among others, to set up a senate comprising the chief justice, three Federal Court judges, the AG, the solicitor-general, the attorneys-general of Sabah and Sarawak, the Malaysian Bar president, academics and other legal eagles.