| Fadley Faisal |
THE Asian Law Students Association (ALSA), Brunei Darussalam National Chapter held a Law Fair at the auditorium of Universiti Islam Sultan Sharif Ali (UNISSA) recently.
The law fair included a panel discussion on legal aid and pro bono legal work, as well as a talk by the International Division of the Attorney General’s Chambers (AGC).
Panellists for the discussion comprised of Brunei Council on Social Welfare (MKM) President Mohd Yusof bin Halim; Law Society of Brunei Darussalam President On Hung Zheng; and Law Society of Brunei Darussalam council member Veronica Ranjakanu.
According to Mohd Yusof, MKM started its Legal Advice and Advisory Clinic in March 2013. The clinic is run every Wednesday evening at the premises of Yusof Halim & Partners.
The bulk of the clinic’s work revolves around assisting needy with their financial needs, either through direct interventions or by assisting them to obtain welfare assistance.
Over the years, MKM had given legal advice to more than 280 clients and taken 38 cases to both the Syariah and Civil Courts.
Members of the public qualify for the services of the MKM legal clinic if they are residents of Brunei Darussalam and their household income after being divided by the number of dependants in the household is not more than BND400.
On Hung Zheng said the Law Society of Brunei Darussalam will give legal advice to Brunei residents whose income is not more than BND1,500 per month.
“MKM initially only looked at the income of the prospective clients, but this was found to be a false indicator of how needy the client is, as a client without dependants with an income of BND1,000 is in a much better financial position than a client earning BND3,000 but having six dependants,” added Mohd Yusof.
The Law Society of Brunei Darussalam actually started running its legal advice clinic in 2010, but it became dormant after a year before being revived in January this year, according to Ranjakanu, who heads the clinic.
The clinic operates once a month with the assistance of 12 law firms and is held in Bandar Seri Begawan and Kuala Belait alternately.
The Law Society of Brunei Darussalam recently agreed to use BND5,000 of the money collected from its members in annual fees to finance disbursements incurred by its lawyers when taking up pro bono or free cases.
Mohd Yusof mentioned that in the more than five years of conducting the legal clinic, MKM found that money expended due to disbursements is but a minor problem, with the major problem being getting lawyers interested to be part of this service.
“When we started the legal clinic, we wrote to every law firms in Brunei as well as the Law Society of Brunei Darussalam, inviting them to be part of this initiative. Unfortunately, the response was and continues to be tepid despite continued pleas in the media for lawyers to take part in the effort,” he said.
Besides Yusof Halim & Partners, only two other law firms – both Syariah law firms – are part of the MKM legal clinic’s panel of lawyers.
It was noted during the panel discussion that in view of the imminent implementation of all the provisions in the Syariah Penal Code – including the hudud laws – there is more reason to focus on the need for equal access to justice, including through the establishment of a nationwide framework for legal aid.
“This matter must be given serious and urgent attention. There may be a need to establish a public defender service or to make it mandatory for lawyers to clock in minimum hours of pro bono work per year before their licences get renewed, as is being practised in some other countries,” echoed former ALSA President Amalina binti Haji Abdul Ghani, who moderated the panel discussion.
Counsel from the Attorney General’s Chambers Mohd Aiman bin Ahmad Zakaria, meanwhile, provided a little insight into the work done at the AGC’s International Division.
Responding to a question posed by a UNISSA law student on how to secure a job at the International Division, Mohd Aiman said, “Doing a Master’s programme in International Law will give the candidate a better prospect of being employed there.”