Legal Education Act

This Act may be cited as the Legal Education Act.

Provides definitions of terms used in the Act (for example: "advocate", "award", "Cabinet secretary", "Council", "Fund", "legal education provider", "Registrar", "Roll", and "Tribunal") and a temporary substitution rule that treats "Cabinet Secretary" as "Minister" and "Principal Secretary" as "Permanent Secretary" until after the first elections under the Constitution.

Objective: promote legal education and the maintenance of the highest possible standards in legal education.

The Cabinet Secretary may approve remuneration, fees or allowances for expenses to be paid to members of the Council, in consultation with the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

The Council must appoint a secretary and other necessary officers; the secretary serves full time, is ex officio without a vote, is responsible for day-to-day running of the Council and may perform duties assigned by the Council.

The Council must, when exercising its functions, follow the Government's general policy on legal education and training and must not be subject to control by any other person or authority.

Section title refers to "Cooperation with other organizations" and mentions the Commission for University Education and other regulators in the field of education.

The Council may invite experts to attend Council meetings and participate; invited attendees may join discussions but may not vote.

The Council may, by resolution (generally or in a particular case), delegate to any of its committees, members, officers, employees or agents the exercise of powers or the performance of functions of the Council under this Act.

The Council shall direct the custody in which the Council's common seal is kept; the seal must not be used except on the Council's order; when affixed and authenticated the seal is officially and judicially noticed and orders/authorizations of the Council under this section are presumed to have been duly given unless the contrary is proved.

Members, officers, employees, agents and persons acting under their direction are protected from being made liable for actions done bona fide in executing Council functions; however, the Council remains liable to pay compensation or damages for injuries caused by exercising its powers or by failures of works.

Establishes the Council of Legal Education, lists its corporate capacities, membership composition and appointment/nomination rules, requires gender equity in appointments, and sets terms for certain members.

A Section resigns from office by written notice addressed to the Cabinet Secretary.

The Council's business and affairs must be conducted and regulated as provided in the First Schedule.

The Council's headquarters shall be in Nairobi.

The Council must regulate, licence and supervise legal education providers, advise the Government on legal education, recognise foreign qualifications for admission to the Roll, and administer prescribed professional examinations.

Section 9 gives the Council powers to manage assets and funds, receive and disburse grants, associate with other organizations, open bank accounts, and invest unused funds; it may also require persons to furnish information on legal education and training within a time specified by the Council.

Institutions intending to offer law degree, diploma or certificate programmes in Kenya must apply to the Council for a licence; offering such programmes without a licence is an offence punishable by fine or imprisonment; the Council may declare by Gazette that particular courses require a licence.

The Council may issue licences to suitable applicants; it must specify courses and terms in the licence and must publish the name of any licensed institution in the Gazette and a nationwide daily newspaper.

Every accredited legal education provider must display its licence prominently at its registered office and at every branch office where it conducts business, and legal education providers must state in letters, accounts, agreements and other documents that they are licensed.

The Council may require corrective action from a legal education provider and may suspend, cancel or revoke its licence under specified procedures.

Certificate courses require at least one year of instruction; diploma courses require at least two years; professional postgraduate courses require at least one year. A legal education provider may, in addition to the courses listed in the Second Schedule, offer other courses to persons pursuing a certificate or diploma in law.

Providers offering law degrees must teach and examine the core courses listed in the Second Schedule.

Establishes the Legal Education Fund and vests it in the Council.

The Council may invest its funds in specified securities (including those trustees may invest in) with National Treasury approval, and may deposit moneys not immediately required with banks it chooses.

The financial year of the Council is the period of twelve months ending on the thirtieth June in each year.

The Council must prepare and approve annual revenue and expenditure estimates before each financial year, submit them to the Cabinet Secretary for approval, may not alter them except with the Cabinet Secretary's authority, and grants from Parliament may be paid to the Council; expenditure under the estimates requires prior Cabinet Secretary approval.

The Council must keep proper books and records of account showing its income, expenditure and assets.

Establishes the Legal Education Appeals Tribunal, lists member qualifications and requires the Judicial Service Commission to appoint members by an open, competitive and transparent process.

A member must not accept any office that would, if he were not a member, make him ineligible for appointment as a member of the Tribunal.

The Tribunal hears written appeals or references relating to the Act, must inquire and make findings and notify parties; it has the High Court's powers for hearing appeals; it may accept affidavit evidence, administer interrogatories, and consider evidence otherwise inadmissible.

Appeals are available from decisions of the Council refusing to grant a licence.

Rules about representation, openness, self-regulation of procedures, and quorum for the Legal Education Appeals Tribunal.

A member of the Tribunal who has an interest in a matter before the Tribunal must not take part in the proceedings.

The Tribunal has the power to confirm, set aside, or vary the order or decision on appeal.

When an appeal is made to the Tribunal under this Act, the status quo of the matter or activity under appeal must be maintained until the appeal is decided.

The Tribunal may award costs of proceedings and can direct payment according to a High Court scale or award a specific sum; it can issue a certificate of the amount on application, which may be filed and executed as a High Court decree.

A dissatisfied party to Tribunal proceedings may appeal a point of law to the High Court within thirty days; the Tribunal may grant a stay of execution of its award pending appeal.

The Tribunal may make rules governing appeals, including filing, hearing, disposal, fees, procedure, notification and costs.

The Cabinet Secretary must determine the remuneration and allowances of the Tribunal's chairperson, registrar and members, based on advice from the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

A legal education provider must comply with subsection (1); failure to comply is an offence.

The Council may recommend reciprocal arrangements to appropriate authorities; the Cabinet Secretary may, on the Council's advice, make Regulations to give effect to such arrangements and adapt the Act accordingly.

It is an offence for a person to (a) knowingly make false statements or produce false documents to procure registration as a legal education provider, (b) as a registered provider operate at a different place of business than the licensed one, or (c) offer legal education otherwise than in accordance with the Act; on conviction the person may be fined up to five hundred thousand shillings or imprisoned up to three years or both.

If a company or other body commits an offence, every person in control or management of that body commits an offence and is liable to punishment, unless that person proves lack of awareness or that they took all reasonable steps to prevent it.

A person who commits an offence under this Act for which no penalty is specifically provided is liable to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both.

Section 46 authorizes the Council to set and oversee continuing legal education and related matters, including accreditation, monitoring of foreign university programmes, establishment of training institutions, staff terms, and allows charging fees; regulations may grant exemptions.

Institutions that, immediately before this Act commenced, were lawfully providing legal training that required a licence are treated as having the same status under this Act.

Section 49 preserves existing agreements, pending proceedings and officers of the former Council by treating agreements and proceedings as if the new Council were the party and by making former Council officers the corresponding officers of the Council; it also states that the Council's assets and liabilities do not include the Kenya School of Law.