PRESS: RELEASE: PARLIAMENTARY APPROVAL OF THE LEGAL PRACTICE BILL The Higher Education Transformation Network (HETN), acting on behalf of its alumni members, hereby welcomes the approval by Parliament of the Legal Practice Bill. We are surprised by the ongoing resistance by Law Societies and Bar Councils against the prerogative of the Minister of Justice to nominate members of the new statutory body to govern the profession. It is the strong view of the Network that the adoption of the Legal Practice Bill has added immense value to the transformation of the legal profession that will culminate into a broader representative judiciary as well as removal of unscrupulous practices by the legal fraternity. State regulation is vital for the professionalization of the legal profession to ensure transformation, ethical conduct, accountability to society, application of common registration standards, practices, ethos and conduct by members of the legal profession. For far too long, Law Societies and Bar Councils have been allowed to operate as closed guilds, federations of multiple fiefdoms and havens of racism with an oligarchy of attorneys and advocates operating free from censure, transparency and accountability. The same Law Societies and Bar Councils which now oppose regulation and professionalization of the legal profession have been perpetrating undesirable practices which serve to benefit themselves as opposed to society and have allegedly allowed the proliferation of racism and exclusivism within the ranks of the legal profession. The time has arrived to hold all attorneys, advocates, judges and magistrates who served under the old pre-1994 dispensation accountable in terms of their compliance with the Constitution, ethical and moral conduct as well as accountability to society. Ends -------------------------------------- For more info hetn.org.za
Posted on: Fri, 15 Nov 2013 14:22:55 +0000
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