1Citation
These Rules may be cited as the Legal Profession Admission
Rules 2007.
Bills and explanatory statements from legislation.nt.gov.au; second reading speeches from the NT Parliamentary Record (Territory Stories). Links open the official source in a new tab.
These Rules may be cited as the Legal Profession Admission
Rules 2007.
In these Rules:
articled clerk means a person serving under articles.
articles means articles of clerkship.
Board means the Admission Board.
certificate of good fame and character, see rule 3.
competency standards, see Schedule 4, item 5.
Court means the Supreme Court.
local applicant means a person applying for admission to the legal profession on the basis of academic qualifications and practical training and experience obtained in Australia.
overseas applicant, see rule 12.
principal, for an articled clerk, means the person with whom the articled clerk enters into articles.
registered, for an overseas applicant, see section 170 of the Act.
(1) A certificate of good fame and character for an applicant may be given by a person:
who is of standing in the community; and
who has known the applicant for at least 3 years; and
who is not closely related to the applicant by blood or marriage.
The certificate must:
(a) specify the name, address and occupation of the person giving the certificate; and
(b) specify the period during which, and the circumstances in which, the person giving the certificate has known the applicant; and
(c) acknowledge any matter that might adversely affect the question of whether the applicant is a fit and proper person to be admitted; and
(d) specify whether, in the opinion of the person giving the certificate, the applicant is of good fame and character.
Example for subrule (2)(c)
If the applicant has been convicted of an offence, the certificate must specify the person giving the certificate is aware of the conviction.
In this rule:
applicant means a person applying:
to the Court under Part 4 for admission as a local lawyer; or
to the Board under Part 6 for approval of entry into articles.
For section 10(1) of the Act, the approved academic qualifications for admission is the completion of a tertiary academic course in Australia, whether or not leading to a degree in law, that:
includes the equivalent of at least 3 years full-time study of law; and
subject to subrule (2), requires a satisfactory level of knowledge and understanding of the areas of knowledge specified in
Schedule 3.
If a local applicant has completed a tertiary academic course in
Australia that does not include the study of ethics and professional responsibility, the applicant need not acquire a satisfactory level of knowledge and understanding of that area of knowledge but must do so when completing the practical requirement for admission.
(1) For section 10(2) of the Act, the approved practical legal training requirements for admission is the completion, at the level of competence required by the competency standards:
of a course approved by the Board; or
of:
at least one year of articles; and
(ii) if required under rule 28 – a supplementary course approved by the Board.
(2) Before approving a course or supplementary course for completion by a local applicant, the Board:
must have regard to Schedule 4, items 1 to 4; and
(b) must be satisfied the course will provide the applicant with the practical training required to enable the applicant to achieve the level of competence required by the competency standards; and
(c) may take into account that a corresponding authority in another jurisdiction has recognised the particular course as one which will enable an applicant for admission in that jurisdiction to achieve the level of competence required by the competency standards.
(3) Before approving a course the employer of an articled clerk offers the clerk wholly or partly in-house, the Board may require the clerk's employer or principal to provide the Board with the information necessary to satisfy itself as required by subrule (2)(b).
In this rule:
course means a course or program of practical legal training or tuition.
If a person who is admitted to the legal profession satisfies the Registrar that the person intends to practise in the Territory exclusively as a barrister and independently of another legal practitioner, the Registrar must enter the appropriate notation with the person's name on the local roll.
On written application by the barrister, the Registrar must remove the notation entered with the barrister's name.
Before being admitted to the legal profession, a person must take an oath in the form in Schedule 1, administered by a judge of the Court or a person specified in subrule (2) or (3).
If the person applies under the Mutual Recognition Act 1992
(Cth) to be registered in the Territory and elects not to appear in person before the Court to be admitted to the legal profession, the oath must be administered by a Registrar of the Supreme Court of another jurisdiction or another officer of that Court designated by the Board.
If the person applies under the Trans-Tasman Mutual
Recognition Act 1997 (Cth) to be registered in the Territory and elects not to appear in person before the Court to be admitted to the legal profession, the oath must be administered by the Registrar of the High Court of New Zealand or another officer of that Court designated by the Board.
If the oath is administered under subrule (2) or (3), the signature on the form in Schedule 2 of the officer who administered the oath is sufficient proof that the person taking the oath has complied with the subrule.
A person who elects under subrule (2) or (3) not to appear in person before the Court must, when taking the oath, sign the form in
Schedule 2 for insertion in the local roll.
On signing the form, the person is taken to have signed the local roll.
An application to the Court for admission as a local lawyer must be made by originating motion accompanied by the relevant affidavits and other documents specified in Division 2 or in a direction under
Division 3.
If an application for admission as a local lawyer is made to the Court, the Board:
must give notice of the application to the Law Society; and
may give notice of the application:
in the form of a public notice; or
(ii) to any entities that, in the opinion of the Board, have an interest in the application.
(1) An application for admission made by a local applicant must be accompanied by an affidavit:
specifying that the applicant is of good fame and character; and
(b) addressing each of the other suitability matters specified in section 11(1)(b) to (m) of the Act.
The following documents must be annexed to the affidavit:
evidence of the applicant's academic qualifications;
(b) a certificate that the applicant has acquired a satisfactory level of knowledge and understanding of:
the areas of knowledge specified in Schedule 3; or
(ii) if, as part of a course approved under rule 5, the applicant has completed training in both trust and office accounting and ethics and professional responsibility – the areas of knowledge specified in Schedule 3 except the area of ethics and professional responsibility;
evidence of the applicant's practical training and experience;
(d) certificates of good fame and character given by at least 2 persons;
any other document relevant to the application.
(1) An application to the Board under section 31(1) of the Act for early consideration of the suitability of a person for admission must:
be made in the approved form; and
(b) be accompanied by certificates of good fame and character of the applicant given by at least 2 persons.
(2) If the Board makes a declaration under section 31 of the Act, the affidavit accompanying the application for admission must:
specify:
(i) a declaration under section 31 of the Act has been made by the Board for the applicant; and
(ii) since the making of the declaration, nothing has occurred to adversely affect the question of whether the applicant is a fit and proper person to be admitted; and
have annexed:
a copy of the application under section 31(1) of the Act; and
a copy of the declaration; and
the documents specified in rule 10(2).
This Division applies to the following persons (an overseas applicant):
a person who has completed in a foreign country a tertiary academic course relevant to the legal profession;
a person who is registered in a foreign country, other than New
Zealand.
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