By virtue of section 7 of the Act, the Board consists of:
- the Attorney General who is the Chairman;
- two judges nominated by the Chief Justice;
- the Chairman of the Malaysian Bar; and
- a full-time member of the academic staff of a Faculty of Law nominated by the Ministry of Higher Education.
The Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court is the Secretary to the Board. The Board is further granted powers to appoint other officers and staff to perform its day to day functions.
According to section 5 of the Act, the Board shall have the following functions:
- to prescribe the qualifications required for the entry of any person into articles with a view to his admission as an advocate and solicitor;
- to provide courses of instruction for, and to regulate the training and instruction of, articled clerks;
- to provide for the examination of articled clerks wishing to become qualified persons;
- to decide on the qualifications, if any, other than those set out in paragraphs (a) and (b) of the definition of “qualified person” in section 3, which may entitle a person to become a qualified person for the purposes of this Act;
- to provide courses of instruction for, and for the examination of, persons whose qualifications are not sufficient to make them qualified persons for the purposes of this Act except after undergoing the courses and passing the examination;
- to provide for the management and conduct of the Bahasa Malaysia Qualifying Examination.
In addition to any other powers conferred by the Act, the Board may make rules and do all things which are necessary and incidental in order to carry out into effect the objects of Part II of the Act and the functions of the Board.
Subsection 6(2) of the Act provides that the Board may make rules –
- for regulating the meetings and proceedings of the Board;
- for the taking and retaining of articled clerks by principals and for the conduct, duties and responsibilities of the parties;
- for regulating the manner in which articled clerks serve their period of articleship;
- specifying the subjects in which articled clerks are required to be proficient in;
- for the examination from time to time of articled clerks;
- for the exemption of articled clerks from courses of instruction or from examination;
- for the appointment of lecturers and examiners and for the payment of fees to them;
- for the management and conduct of, and the exemption of certain categories of qualified persons and articled clerks from, the Bahasa Malaysia Qualifying Examination;
- for prescribing the forms to be used and the fees to be paid under this Part.
|