For the first time, all law students take pledge to uphold values

NUS, SUSS and SMU hold their own ceremonies involving over 300 freshmen

- Gabrielle Chan

Students from all three law schools in Singapore have taken a pledge for the first time to uphold the values of the legal profession.

These include more than 300 law freshmen from the Singapore University of Social Sciences (SUSS), Singapore Management University's (SMU) Yong Pung How School of Law, and the National University of Singapore (NUS).

Each school held its formal ceremony this week that saw students reciting the pledge, following Chief Justice Sundaresh Menon's acceptance of recommendations by the Ethics and Professional Standards Committee in January.

Co-chaired by Justice Valerie Thean and senior counsel Jimmy Yim, the committee recommended "building a shared vision for the legal profession as a community", which included introducing a pledge for university students.

The committee was formed by the Chief Justice in 2023, following a rise in breaches of ethics and professional standards by lawyers.

It was reported in 2022 that 11 aspiring lawyers cheated in the Part B 2020 Bar examinations that law graduates must pass in order to practise law.

The exams were held online in 2020.

Mr Yim, who attended SUSS' ceremony on Aug 2, said: "The pledge is meant to cultivate and instil in the students the core values that represent the legal profession." These values are integrity, professionalism and justice, he added.