Legal Profession (Admission) Rules 2024

The Part B Course is to be held at the times and in the manner determined by the Dean.

The Dean may appoint any person that he or she considers necessary to assist in the administration and conduct of the Part B Course.

The Chairperson may appoint any number of members of the Board of Directors to constitute a Board of Examiners for the Part B Examinations.

The Board of Examiners may —

A person is not eligible to sit for the Part B Examinations in a particular session unless —

An application to sit for the Part B Examinations in a particular session must —

For the purposes of approving an application, the Part B Director may require a person —

A person who has applied under rule 7(2) to sit for the Part B Examinations in a particular session and is dissatisfied with a decision of the Part B Director not to approve the application under rule 7(1)(c) may, within 14 days after the date on which the decision is communicated to the person, apply to the Institute for the decision to be reviewed by the Dean.

An application for the review of a decision of the Part B Director must be made in the manner specified by the Institute and be accompanied by the fee specified in the Second Schedule.

Upon considering an application by a person under paragraph (1), the Dean may —

The Dean must notify the person in writing of the Dean’s decision, which is final.

Where the Dean has approved under paragraph (3)(a)(i) a person’s application under rule 7(2) to sit for the Part B Examinations in a particular session, the Dean may direct that the fee paid by the person under paragraph (2) be refunded to that person.

The Dean must release the results of the Part B Examinations for a particular session as soon as is practicable after that session.

However, the Dean may choose not to release the results of any person who sat for the Part B Examinations in a particular session if there are pending investigations into any allegation of misconduct committed by that person.

This rule applies to a person who does not pass all examinable modules of the Part B Examinations in a particular session on or after 17 July 2024.

Subject to paragraph (5), a person who does not pass any one or more examinable modules of the Part B Examinations in a particular session may apply to retake those modules at any subsequent session.

The application in paragraph (2) must —

A person who passes all the modules that the person has applied to retake under paragraph (2), whether in one or more subsequent sessions, is deemed to have passed the Part B Examinations.

However, if the person does not obtain a pass for all the modules within 4 consecutive sessions, paragraph (2) ceases to apply, and the person must retake the Part B Course and all the examinable modules of the Part B Examinations for the purposes of section 11B(1)(d) of the Act.

The Part B Director may, with the approval of the Board of Directors, issue, and from time to time amend, a Code of Conduct for the maintenance and enforcement of discipline among the candidates.

It is the duty of every candidate to comply with the Code of Conduct.

The Part B Director must cause the Code of Conduct to be published in a manner that he or she thinks is necessary and appropriate to bring it to the attention of all candidates.

If the Part B Director has reason to believe that a candidate has committed any misconduct, the Part B Director must, by written notice, call upon the candidate to offer an explanation or to answer any allegation against him or her, whether in writing or in person before the Part B Director, within a period of 7 days from the date specified in the notice.

The Part B Director must issue a letter of warning to the candidate if that candidate —

If a candidate is issued with a third letter of warning under rule 16(2), the Part B Director must —

Despite paragraph (1), the Part B Director may immediately report the matter to the Dean in writing without having to comply with rule 16(1) or issuing any letter of warning to the candidate concerned under rule 16(2), but must notify the candidate in writing that he or she has made the report to the Dean, if the Part B Director has reason to believe that the candidate has —

Upon receiving a report from the Part B Director under rule 17(1)(a) or (2), the Dean must —

The Dean may also give notice to any other person to provide any information or evidence that the Dean thinks necessary for the purposes of his or her inquiry —

If the candidate concerned does not attend before the Dean when called upon to do so under paragraph (1), the Dean may proceed with his or her inquiry in the candidate’s absence.

If, in the course of his or her inquiry, the Dean receives information that the candidate concerned has committed any other misconduct that is not mentioned in the Part B Director’s report under rule 17(1)(a) or (2), the Dean may, after giving notice to the candidate, proceed to inquire into that misconduct even though there is no report.

A candidate attending before the Dean under paragraph (1)(b)(ii) must not be represented by an advocate and solicitor.

After the Dean has conducted his or her inquiry and given the candidate concerned a reasonable opportunity of being heard, the Dean may —

If —

A candidate who has been dealt with by the Dean under paragraph (1) is not entitled to any refund of any fee paid by him or her to the Institute under rule 7 or 11.

The decision of the Dean to take any minor disciplinary measure mentioned in rule 14(d) to (h) against a candidate, or to take no action against a candidate, is final.

The Dean —

The Chairperson may appoint any 3 members of the Board of Directors to constitute a Disciplinary Committee.

A Disciplinary Committee may be appointed in connection with one or more matters or for a fixed period of time as the Chairperson thinks fit.

The Chairperson must appoint one of the members of a Disciplinary Committee to preside over it.

If any member of a Disciplinary Committee is unable to act for any reason in any case, the Chairperson may appoint another member of the Board of Directors to replace him or her for that case.

The Part B Director is the secretary of every Disciplinary Committee.

A decision of any Disciplinary Committee must be made by a majority vote of its members.

A Disciplinary Committee —

A candidate who is aggrieved by a decision of the Dean to take any minor disciplinary measure mentioned in rule 14(a), (b) or (c) may, within 14 days after the date on which the decision is communicated to the candidate, apply to the Institute in the manner specified by the Institute for the decision to be reviewed by a Disciplinary Committee.

Every application under paragraph (1) for a review of a decision of the Dean must be accompanied by the fee specified in the Second Schedule.

Upon reviewing an application by a candidate under paragraph (1), the Disciplinary Committee may —

If —

The Disciplinary Committee must give written notice to the candidate concerned of any decision it has made under paragraph (3) and, if applicable, any disciplinary measure that it has decided to take against the candidate under paragraph (3)(c) or (4).

The decision of the Disciplinary Committee —

Upon receiving and considering the report and recommendation of the Dean under rule 19(1)(c), the Disciplinary Committee may —

The Disciplinary Committee must give written notice to the candidate concerned of the decision it has made under paragraph (1) and, if applicable, any disciplinary measure that it has decided to take against the candidate under paragraph (1)(b).

A candidate who has been dealt with by the Disciplinary Committee under paragraph (1) is not entitled to any refund of any fee paid by him or her to the Institute under rule 7 or 11.

The decision of the Disciplinary Committee to take any minor disciplinary measure against a candidate, or to take no action against a candidate, is final.

A candidate who is aggrieved by a decision of the Disciplinary Committee to take any major disciplinary measure under rule 21(3)(c) or (4) or 22(1)(b) may, within 14 days after the date on which the decision is communicated to the candidate, apply to the Institute in the manner specified by the Institute for the decision to be reviewed by the Board of Directors.

Every application under paragraph (1) for a review of a decision of the Disciplinary Committee must be accompanied by the fee specified in the Second Schedule.

Upon reviewing a decision of the Disciplinary Committee under paragraph (1), the Board of Directors may —

The Dean and members of the Disciplinary Committee concerned must neither —

The Board of Directors must give written notice to the candidate concerned of the decision it has made under paragraph (3) and, if applicable, any disciplinary measure that it has decided to take against the candidate under paragraph (3)(c).

The decision of the Board of Directors under paragraph (3) is final.

A qualified person who intends to apply for admission as a lawyer (NP) must, before filing an application for admission, and on or before filing an application to attend the Part B Course —

The Institute must enter in a register of qualified persons —

The fee payable by a qualified person on his or her registration under this rule is as specified in the Second Schedule.

This rule applies to an application for admission as a lawyer (NP) under section 11A of the Act made by a qualified person.

An application for admission under this rule must be made to the court by originating application and accompanied by any form that the Registrar may require.

The date fixed for the hearing of the application must be at least 60 days after the date on which the application is filed.

The applicant must, not earlier than 30 days after the date on which the application is filed, and not later than 21 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application, file an affidavit exhibiting the following documents:

For the purposes of paragraph (4)(b) —

Despite paragraphs (4)(b) and (5), the court may accept in place of either or both of the certificates mentioned in paragraph (4)(b), or require in addition to those certificates, any other evidence of good character that the court thinks fit.

The following must be served on the Attorney-General, the Society and the Institute within 3 days after the date on which they are filed:

The Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute need not be represented at the hearing of any application for admission under this rule unless any of them intends to object to that application.

[Deleted by S 240/2025 wef 17/01/2025]

Subject to rule 27(1), any person who intends to object to any application for admission as a lawyer (NP) made under rule 25 must file in the court and serve on the Attorney‑General, the Society, the Institute and the applicant a notice of objection under this rule not later than 30 days after the date on which the application is filed.

Every notice of objection under this rule must contain the full name, occupation and address of the person who intends to object, a brief statement of the grounds of objection and an address for service.

If the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute intends to object to any application for admission as a lawyer (NP) made under rule 25, the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute (as the case may be) must file in the court and serve on the applicant, not less than 5 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application, a notice of objection containing a brief statement of the grounds of objection.

If the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute does not intend to object to any application for admission as a lawyer (NP) made under rule 25, the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute (as the case may be) must serve or cause to be served on the applicant, not less than 5 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application, a letter stating that as at the date of the letter, the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute (as the case may be) has no objection to the application.

The Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute may, for the purposes of determining whether to object to any application for admission made under rule 25 —

For the purposes of section 13(c) of the Act, a qualified person or eligible person must serve, subject to paragraph (2), his or her practice training period and receive supervised training in relation to the practice of Singapore law during that period —

A qualified person or eligible person must not serve more than 3 months of his or her practice training period under a practice training contract with a qualifying entity.

Subject to paragraph (4), a qualified person or eligible person must not, without the written permission of the Dean, hold any office or engage in any employment, whether full‑time or part‑time, during his or her practice training period.

Paragraph (3) does not —

Any period in which a qualified person or eligible person attends the Part B Course while concurrently receiving any supervised training in relation to the practice of Singapore law through working —

The practice training period must be served in accordance with any guidelines issued by the Institute under rule 49.

A qualified person may start serving his or her practice training period under a practice training contract if the qualified person has attended and satisfactorily completed the Part B Course.

An eligible person may start serving his or her practice training period under a practice training contract at any time.

A qualified person who is a Judicial Service Officer, a Legal Service Officer or a person working under the supervision of a qualifying relevant legal officer may start serving his or her practice training period at any time.

A solicitor must not be the supervising solicitor of a practice trainee unless the solicitor —

Subject to paragraph (3), a supervising solicitor must not supervise more than 2 practice trainees at any time.

A supervising solicitor does not contravene paragraph (2) if the period of supervising more than 2 practice trainees at the same time is less than 3 months.

A Singapore law practice which provides a practice trainee with supervised training in relation to the practice of Singapore law under a practice training contract must ensure that —

Where the Singapore law practice does not have the expertise or resources to provide the practice trainee with any part of the practice training required, the Singapore law practice may arrange, with the prior written permission of the Institute, for the practice trainee to receive that part of the training in another Singapore law practice in accordance with any guidelines issued under rule 49.

A practice trainee is deemed to be supervised by his or her supervising solicitor during the period that the practice trainee receives training in another Singapore law practice under paragraph (2).

A sole proprietorship, incorporated or unincorporated partnership or body corporate is a qualifying entity if it has a legal department (by whatever name called) which —

A qualifying entity excludes a Singapore law practice, Joint Law Venture, Qualifying Foreign Law Practice or licensed foreign law practice.

A person must not be a supervisor in a qualifying entity for a practice trainee, unless the person —

A supervisor in a qualifying entity must not supervise more than 2 practice trainees at any time.

A Singapore law practice must register with the Institute —

A qualifying entity must register with the Institute —

If a qualified person or eligible person who intends to apply for admission as an advocate and solicitor is required to serve a practice training period, he or she must —

If a qualified person or eligible person intends to change the manner of serving his or her practice training period, he or she must notify the Institute in writing of that intention and obtain the approval of the Institute for the change.

Notification of the intended change mentioned in paragraph (2) must be given no later than 14 days after the change, failing which the period served after the change is not to be counted towards the practice training period.

This rule applies to an application for admission as an advocate and solicitor under section 12(2) of the Act made by an eligible person.

An application for admission under this rule must be made by originating application and be accompanied by any form that the Registrar may require.

The date fixed for the hearing of the application must be at least 60 days after the date on which the application is filed.

The applicant must, not earlier than 30 days after the date on which the application is filed, and not later than 21 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application, file an affidavit exhibiting the following documents:

For the purposes of paragraph (4)(c) —

Despite paragraphs (4)(c) and (5), the court may accept in place of either or both of the certificates mentioned in paragraph (4)(c), or require in addition to those certificates, any other evidence of good character that the court thinks fit.

Subject to rule 43, for the purposes of paragraph (4)(d), the applicant must exhibit, in the affidavit mentioned in paragraph (4), a certificate of diligence —

The following must be served on the Attorney‑General, the Society and the Institute within 3 days after the date on which they are filed:

The Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute need not be represented at the hearing of any application for admission under this rule unless any of them intends to object to that application.

Subject to rule 45(1), any person who intends to object to any application for admission as an advocate and solicitor made under rule 42 must file in the court and serve on the Attorney‑General, the Society, the Institute and the applicant a notice of objection under this rule not later than 30 days after the date on which the application is filed.

Every notice of objection under this rule must contain the full name, occupation and address of the person who intends to object, a brief statement of the grounds of objection and an address for service.

If the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute intends to object to any application for admission as an advocate and solicitor made under rule 42, the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute (as the case may be) must file in the court and serve on the applicant, not less than 5 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application, a notice of objection containing a brief statement of the grounds of objection.

If the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute does not intend to object to any application for admission as an advocate and solicitor made under rule 42, the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute (as the case may be) must serve on the applicant, not less than 5 days before the date fixed for the hearing of the application, a letter stating that as at the date of the letter, the Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute (as the case may be) has no objection to the application.

The Attorney‑General, the Society or the Institute may, for the purposes of determining whether to object to any application for admission made under rule 42 —

The following areas of legal practice are prescribed for the purposes of section 15(2) of the Act:

For the purposes of section 15(5) of the Act, a person who applies to be admitted under section 15 of the Act must pay —

The Institute may revoke any certificate, award or prize granted or issued by it, or by the Board of Legal Education or the Secretary thereof, to any person if the Institute is satisfied that —

The Institute must, before revoking any certificate, award or prize under paragraph (1)(a) or (b), give the person concerned written notice of its intention to do so, specifying a date, not less than 21 days after the date of the notice, on which the revocation will take effect and calling upon the person to show cause to the Institute why the certificate, award or prize should not be revoked.

When the Institute has revoked any certificate, award or prize under paragraph (1) —

When the Institute has revoked any certificate, award or prize under paragraph (1)(a) or (b), notice of the revocation must be published in the Gazette.

The certificate, award or prize ceases to be valid upon its revocation.

In this rule, “award” includes an award of a pass or distinction in any assignment, examination or test.

The Institute may, from time to time, issue guidelines for the purposes of Parts 5, 6 and 7.

The guidelines issued under paragraph (1) may explain or clarify, or provide examples or illustrations to explain or clarify, any requirement under the rules in those Parts.

The forms to be used for the purposes of these Rules are those set out on the Institute’s website, and —

The affidavit mentioned in rule 25(4) must be in Form A(1).

The certificate mentioned in rule 25(4)(a) must be in Form B(1).

The certificates as to the good character of the applicant mentioned in rule 25(4)(b) must be in Form C.

The affidavit mentioned in rule 42(4) must —

The certificate mentioned in rule 42(4)(a) must be in Form B(2).

The certificates as to the good character of the applicant mentioned in rule 42(4)(c) must be in Form C.