Law Ministry accepts list of universities whose degrees are recognised for Bar admission

SINGAPORE - The Law Ministry has accepted the recommendations of the Singapore Institute of Legal Education (SILE) on the list of Overseas Scheduled Universities (OSUs), whose law degrees are recognised for admission to the Singapore Bar.

SILE recommended revising the list of United Kingdom OSUs to 11 universities.

The universities are University of Birmingham, University of Bristol, University of Cambridge, University of Durham, King's College London, London School of Economics and Political Science, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London, University College, University of Nottingham, University of Oxford, and University of Warwick.

SILE also recommended to retain the two New Zealand OSUs, namely University of Auckland and Victoria University of Wellington.

In a statement on Tuesday, the Law Ministry said that it had accepted these recommendations for implemention for prospective intakes from the 2016/17 Academic Year onwards.

Transitional provisions will be put in place to ensure that Singaporean citizens and permanent residents who have secured a place before the relevant cut-off date in UK OSUs omitted from the list are not adversely affected by the change.

The ministry added that going forward, the list of OSUs will be reviewed by SILE every five years to ensure the continued quality of law graduates seeking admission to the Singapore Bar.

seanyap@sph.com.sg