By Zebedee Kumpio
DEPARTMENT of Justice and Attorney General Secretary Dr Eric Kwa has outlined significant reforms being undertaken within the legal fraternity.
In his keynote address at the Papua New Guinea Law Society Seminar on Tuesday in Port Moresby, Dr. Kwa highlighted the department’s six-year journey toward reforming the profession and the Law
Sector.
The aim of these reforms is to enhance governance within the department and improve the services that lawyers provide to the public.
“Under the leadership of Hon. Bryant Kramer, we introduced the Lawyers (Amendment) Act 2021,” Dr. Kwa stated.
“This act was necessary due to numerous issues we needed to address, particularly concerning the conduct of
lawyers.”
Dr. Kwa emphasized that one of the key objectives of the Lawyers Act was to strengthen the Law Society. The amendment requires graduates from the Legal Training Institute to pass a ‘Fit and Proper’ test before being
issued practicing certificates. Additionally, the reform mandates that all unrestricted practicing certificates must be renewed every five years, and the penalty for violating rules has been increased from K1,000 to K5,000.
“We know that multinational companies operate in this country with foreign in-house lawyers who are not registered with us. Under the changes, anyone calling themselves a lawyer must be
registered with the PNG Law Society,” Dr. Kwa said.
He also noted that foreign law firms must employ a sufficient number of Papua New Guineans to register under the new reform.
