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Standing (from left): Ms Yasho Dhoraisingam, Mr Montague Choy, Mr Sivakumar Murugaiyan and Ms Helen Chia Seated (from left): Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, Mr Palakrishnan, SC, and Mrs Arfat Selvam |
On 15 September, on the rooftop of the Le Royal Meridien Hotel in Bangkok, 14 Bar associations and law societies from Asia and the Pacific came together in an annual meeting to discuss mutual issues of concern for the legal
profession.
The topics specifically identified for discussion at this annual meeting were:
The countries represented at this annual meeting of the Presidents of the Law Associations (‘POLA’) in Asia were:
The one-day meeting started with each country presenting their country reports for the year, before proceeding to present papers on the four issues identified for discussion.
It was clear, from the country reports, that a few of our Asian neighbours continued to battle fundamental issues such as the independence of their judiciary and the maintenance of the Rule of Law.
It was also clear from the country reports that the implementation of GATS meant many Asian countries had to re-look at their domestic laws on admission and qualifications to practise to ensure they would meet the international
standards set by GATS.
Young Lawyers Programmes
The report from each country on Young Lawyers Programmes showed that Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia and New Zealand had comprehensive programmes.
The presence of the Co-chairpersons of our Young Lawyers Committee, Mr Montague Choy and Ms Helen Chia, was a welcome sight at the Conference. Mr Montague Choy, on behalf of Singapore, described our new programmes for young lawyers.
A dinner talk series was to be launched in November to enable young lawyers to meet senior members of the Bar, who would share their experiences of practice. He also described the criteria for our Young Lawyers Award that was
inaugurated at this year’s Annual Dinner and Dance.
We learnt at the meeting that on every Friday, a member of Council of the Law Society of Hong Kong was available to meet young lawyers.
Pro Bono Work
As regards pro bono work, it was most interesting to learn of a scheme introduced in South Korea two years ago. Every lawyer is required to do a mandatory number of hours of pro bono work each year. If a lawyer fails to meet
the mandated hours, his Bar association would fine him US$25 for each failed hour. It was reported that most lawyers in South Korea meet their mandatory minimum hours set by their state Bar association.
Code of Conduct
It was no surprise to learn that the standards of conduct set by Bar associations around Asia are very similar to one another, despite different legal origins and history. However, what was surprising is that in most countries,
their code of conduct does not have the force of law. Singapore is one of the few countries in Asia where our code of conduct has the force of law.
The presence of our Co-chairs to the Young Lawyers Committee has inspired next year’s host, Hong Kong, to consider planning a parallel meeting of chairs of Young Lawyers Committees across Asia and the Pacific.
Our President, Mr Palakrishnan, SC, Vice Presidents, Mrs Arfat Selvam and Mr Philip Jeyaretnam, attended this one-day meeting with Mr Montague Choy, Ms Helen Chia and the Society’s Chief Executive Officer, Ms Yasho Dhoraisingam.
Once again, the annual POLA meeting, proved to be another opportunity to exchange ideas with our neighbours on the mutual problems and challenges that face the legal profession in the Asia Pacific region.