Lawyer's actions might be misconduct, says Bar

Malay Mail 
by Ram Anand

An advocate or solicitor shall not furnish copies of any document filed in court to the press, says Lim

KUALA LUMPUR: Bar Council member Mohd Khairul Azam Abdul Aziz’s conduct while filing his suit to nullify the Bar Council’s EGM on May 11 could have gone against the legal profession rules.

Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee told The Malay Mail he understood that Khairul Azam had distributed copies of court papers after filing his legal action against the Bar and Lim.

“The (council) reminds its members that Rule 60A of the Legal Profession (Practice and Etiquette) Rules 1978 states that an advocate or solicitor shall not furnish copies of any document filed in court to the press,” he said.

According to Lim, the rule stipulates that the copies can only be furnished in hearing in an open court.

Lim was referring to the fact that he had found out about the suit through the press rather than being served a notice.

“The rationale of the rule is to avoid the unpleasant and unfair situation of a litigant finding out about the litigation against him through the press instead of service (of notice),” he said.

He said a breach of this rule could amount to misconduct.

Lim said the Bar intended to defend the suit.

On Monday, Lim had opposed the idea of setting up a law academy as an "alternative" to the Bar Council, which was mooted by Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Nazri Abdul Aziz.

In a statement, he had stated that the creation of any “alternative” institution empowered to control the conduct of the legal profession would usurp the functions and powers of the Bar Council under the Legal Profession Act 1976 and ignore its powers and duty to regulate its own affairs, and would be an intolerable assault on the independence of the Malaysian Bar.

Lim had theorised that the suggestion was similar to a proposal the government had mooted twice in the past, and was purely a reaction to the Bar's message condemning excessive use of force by the police at the April 28 Bersih 3.0 rally.

The Bar Council has been criticised by Nazri, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, and also former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for being "partial" when they passed the same resolution.