The following sections of Legal Practitioners Act, 15 of 1995, as amended govern admission and qualification as a legal practitioner.
3. Admission of legal practitioners
No person shall be admitted and authorised to practise as a legal practitioner or be enrolled as such, except in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
4. Persons qualified to be admitted as legal practitioners and application for admission
(1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the Court shall admit and authorise to practise as a legal practitioner any person who, upon application made by him or her, satisfies the Court that he or she-
(a) is a fit and proper person to be so admitted and authorised;
(b) is duly qualified in accordance with the provisions of section 5; and
(c) (i) is a Namibian citizen; or
(ii) has been lawfully admitted to Namibia for permanent residence therein and is ordinarily resident in Namibia ; or
(iii) is the holder of an employment permit issued in terms of section 27 of the Immigration Control Act, 1993 (Act 7 of 1993) for the purpose of employment in the service of the State.
(2) An application in terms of subsection (1) shall be made to the Court in accordance with the Rules of Court.
5. Academic and professional qualifications
(1) A person shall be duly qualified for the purposes of section 4 (1) if-
(a) he or she holds a degree in law from the University of Namibia, or an equivalent qualification in law from a university or a comparable educational institution situated outside Namibia which has been prescribed by the Minister under subsection (4) (a) for the purposes of this paragraph, and he or she has, subject to subsections (2) and (3), been issued with a certificate by the Board stating that he or she-
(i) has satisfactorily undergone practical legal training; and
(ii) has passed the Legal Practitioners’ Qualifying Examination;
(b) he or she holds a degree, diploma or certificate in law which immediately before the commencement of this Act was prescribed under the Attorneys Act, 1979 (Act 53 of 1979) as a degree, diploma or certificate which entitled a holder thereof to be admitted as an attorney under that Act, and he or she-
(i) has, after having obtained such degree, diploma or certificate, either before the date of commencement of this Act or, by virtue of the provisions of section 94 (2), at any time not later than two years after that date, or such longer period as the Minister by notice in the Gazette may determine, complied with the provisions of the Attorneys Act, 1979 in regard to service under articles and passed the practical examinations referred to in section 14 (1) (a), (b), (c) and (d) of that Act, or such part or parts thereof from which he or she has not been exempted by virtue of the provisions of section 13 or 13A of that Act; or
(ii) was, immediately before the commencement of this Act, exempted by virtue of the provisions of section 13 or 13A of the Attorneys Act, 1979, from service under articles and from passing the practical examinations referred to in subparagraph (i);
(c) he or she holds a degree or an equivalent qualification in law from a university or a comparable educational institution situated outside Namibia which has been prescribed by the Minister under subsection (4) (b) for the purposes of this paragraph, and he or she-
(i) has undergone a course of one year undergraduate study provided by the Faculty of Law of the University of Namibia and has been certified by the University as having passed all examinations and fulfilled all other requirements of such course; and
(ii) has, subject to subsections (2) and (3) been issued with a certificate by the Board stating that he or she-
(aa) has satisfactorily undergone practical legal training; and
(bb) has passed the Legal Practitioners’ Qualifying Examination; or
(d) his or her name appears on the list, register or roll of legal practitioners, advocates or attorneys, or by whatever name called, kept by a competent authority of any country specified in Schedule 3 to this Act, and he or she-
(i) has, upon his or her application, been exempted by the Board from complying with the requirements of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a), and, where applicable, has complied with any conditions subject to which such exemption has been granted by the Board; or
(ii) where he or she has not been so exempted, has complied with the provisions of subparagraphs (i) and (ii) of paragraph (a).
(2) The Board shall not for the purposes of paragraph (a) (ii) or (c) (ii) (aa) of subsection (1) or section 6 (3) certify that a person has satisfactorily undergone practical legal training, unless the Board, after the consideration of a report by the Director of the Centre-
(a) is satisfied that such person has-
(i) for the full period that he or she attended the course of postgraduate study; or
(ii) if such person has already passed the Legal Practitioners’ Qualifying Examination, for a period of not less than 6 months,
continuously been attached to a legal practitioner or legal practitioners for the purpose of practical legal training; and
(b) considers the standard of training received by such person as adequate for the purposes of admission as a legal practitioner.
(3) No person shall be permitted to sit for the Legal Practitioners’ Qualifying Examination, unless the Board, after consideration of a report by the Director of the Centre, is satisfied that such person has satisfactorily attended and completed the course of post-graduate study: Provided that a person who holds a degree or equivalent qualification referred to in paragraph (c) of subsection (1),shall not be entitled to commence with and attend the course of post-graduate study, unless he or she has passed all examinations of the course of undergraduate study referred to in subparagraph (i) of that paragraph.
(4) The Minister may from time to time, on recommendation of the Board, prescribe by notice in the Gazette-
(a) for the purposes of subsection (1) (a), any degree or equivalent qualification in law from a university or other comparable educational institution in a foreign country, the legal system of which is based on common law, which shall be accepted as a sufficient qualification for the purposes of that subsection;
(b) for the purposes of subsection (1) (c), any degree or equivalent qualification in law from a university or other comparable educational
institution in a foreign country, the legal system of which is not based on common law, which shall be accepted as a sufficient qualification for
the purposes of that subsection.
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