Erudite Professor of Law, Ernest Ojukwu SAN has
categorically commented on the proposed Public Hearing on the Legal
Practitioners Act (Amend) Bill 2017 ( SB. 435).
Restating the fact that he drafted the bill 12 years, he
believes that many provisions of the Bill are outdated and in
urgent need of overhauling.
He therefore calls for the immediate withdrawal of the Bill
before the Law making house.
Below reads copy of the letter
10th March 2018
CHAIRMAN
SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
HUMAN RIGHTS & LEGAL MATTERS
ROOM 204 2ND FLOOR
SENATE WING
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Dear Distinguished Chairman,
RE MEMORANDUM – PUBLIC HEARING ON LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT
(AMEND) BILL 2017 (SB.435)
My attention has been drawn to the proposed public hearing on
the “Legal Practitioners Act (Amend) Bill 2017 (SB.435) and call
for memoranda.
I drafted that bill 12 years ago for the Nigerian Bar
Association under the oversight of the NBA President Olisa Agbakoba
SAN and General Secretary Rabana-Lawal SAN. President Agbakoba had
sent that bill to the National Assembly in 2007 under the private
sponsorship of Senator Ndoma Egba SAN, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and
three other Senators.
The bill was proposed as a result of the failure of the Bar to
“push” for the enactment of a totally new Act “The Legal
Practitioners Act (Bill) of 2004” which was approved by the Bar
towards the end of the tenure of NBA President Chief Wole
Olanipekun SAN in 2004. While the 2004 Bill was intended to be a
total replacement of the Legal Practitioners Act, the Amendment
Bill of 2007 only dealt with specific challenges such as discipline
of lawyers, mandatory continuing legal education, statutory backing
for NBA and its institute as a corporate body, and so on.
While we must be grateful to His Excellency Senator Akpabio for
re-sponsoring this Amendment Bill, we should also urge him to stay
further action on the Bill for the following reasons:
(1) The Amendment Bill was drafted in 2007 and
some of its sections are out-dated and unnecessary now;
(2) Some of the out-dated provisions include: giving NBA a
statutory backing, giving the Institute of Continuing Legal
Education a statutory backing, domiciling the continuing legal
education programme with the NBA, writing detailed rules of a
mandatory continuing legal education into the law, giving NBA
additional regulatory functions when the current move is to divest
the Association of all regulatory functions; and bringing more
persons into NBA control when it has been unable to and lacks the
capacity to manage the scope of persons under its control at
present;
(3) The current legal profession’s regulatory objective is
to concede only a representative role to the Bar
Association;
(4) The Bar has produced a more advanced draft law- titled
the “Legal Profession Regulation Act” which hopefully would be sent
to you as soon as possible.
(5) The proposed Legal Profession Regulation Act covers the
field and is more likely to address most of the legal profession’s
problems today (2018).
I do note that the LPA Amendment
Bill has very good provisions that will still need to be included
in the proposed Legal Profession Regulation Act, such as the
provision on multi-disciplinary committees for lawyers.
Senator Akpabio should be persuaded to withdraw the bill and
probably work together with the Bar to push a new holistic Bill.
Though it is unfortunate that the Bar has not been able to “push”
for the renewal of its foundation legislation since 2004
when we submitted
the first reformed Bill, it would be better to get it right now,
once and for all times. I therefore suggest that you use your good
offices to suspend further deliberations on the proposed Legal
Practitioners (Amend) Bill 2017.
I thank you for your responsible leadership.
Prof Ernest Ojukwu, SAN
Erudite Professor of Law, Ernest Ojukwu SAN has
categorically commented on the proposed Public Hearing on the Legal
Practitioners Act (Amend) Bill 2017 ( SB. 435).
Restating the fact that he drafted the bill 12 years, he
believes that many provisions of the Bill are outdated and in
urgent need of overhauling.
He therefore calls for the immediate withdrawal of the Bill
before the Law making house.
Below reads copy of the letter
10th March 2018
CHAIRMAN
SENATE COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY
HUMAN RIGHTS & LEGAL MATTERS
ROOM 204 2ND FLOOR
SENATE WING
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
Dear Distinguished Chairman,
RE MEMORANDUM – PUBLIC HEARING ON LEGAL PRACTITIONERS ACT
(AMEND) BILL 2017 (SB.435)
My attention has been drawn to the proposed public hearing on
the “Legal Practitioners Act (Amend) Bill 2017 (SB.435) and call
for memoranda.
I drafted that bill 12 years ago for the Nigerian Bar
Association under the oversight of the NBA President Olisa Agbakoba
SAN and General Secretary Rabana-Lawal SAN. President Agbakoba had
sent that bill to the National Assembly in 2007 under the private
sponsorship of Senator Ndoma Egba SAN, Senator Ike Ekweremadu and
three other Senators.
The bill was proposed as a result of the failure of the Bar to
“push” for the enactment of a totally new Act “The Legal
Practitioners Act (Bill) of 2004” which was approved by the Bar
towards the end of the tenure of NBA President Chief Wole
Olanipekun SAN in 2004. While the 2004 Bill was intended to be a
total replacement of the Legal Practitioners Act, the Amendment
Bill of 2007 only dealt with specific challenges such as discipline
of lawyers, mandatory continuing legal education, statutory backing
for NBA and its institute as a corporate body, and so on.
While we must be grateful to His Excellency Senator Akpabio for
re-sponsoring this Amendment Bill, we should also urge him to stay
further action on the Bill for the following reasons:
(1) The Amendment Bill was drafted in 2007 and
some of its sections are out-dated and unnecessary now;
(2) Some of the out-dated provisions include: giving NBA a
statutory backing, giving the Institute of Continuing Legal
Education a statutory backing, domiciling the continuing legal
education programme with the NBA, writing detailed rules of a
mandatory continuing legal education into the law, giving NBA
additional regulatory functions when the current move is to divest
the Association of all regulatory functions; and bringing more
persons into NBA control when it has been unable to and lacks the
capacity to manage the scope of persons under its control at
present;
(3) The current legal profession’s regulatory objective is
to concede only a representative role to the Bar
Association;
(4) The Bar has produced a more advanced draft law- titled
the “Legal Profession Regulation Act” which hopefully would be sent
to you as soon as possible.
(5) The proposed Legal Profession Regulation Act covers the
field and is more likely to address most of the legal profession’s
problems today (2018).
I do note that the LPA Amendment
Bill has very good provisions that will still need to be included
in the proposed Legal Profession Regulation Act, such as the
provision on multi-disciplinary committees for lawyers.
Senator Akpabio should be persuaded to withdraw the bill and
probably work together with the Bar to push a new holistic Bill.
Though it is unfortunate that the Bar has not been able to “push”
for the renewal of its foundation legislation since 2004
when we submitted
the first reformed Bill, it would be better to get it right now,
once and for all times. I therefore suggest that you use your good
offices to suspend further deliberations on the proposed Legal
Practitioners (Amend) Bill 2017.
I thank you for your responsible leadership.
Prof Ernest Ojukwu, SAN