A private university is now counting on the Constitutional Court for assurance that its 400 LLB students will be allowed to practise after graduating, says a Cape Argus report. The Independent Institute of Education (IIE) has brought an application asking the court to declare a section of the Legal Practice Act unconstitutional, as it only allows graduates from public universities to practise as lawyers.

Varsity College, a private higher education institution owned by the IIE, started offering the LLB at six of its campuses last year.

As previously reported, the KZN Law Society said the LLB offered at Varsity College does not meet the requirements for admission into the field and that it only recognised LLB graduates from public universities. However, the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg) in February declared the contested section unconstitutional.

But, notes the Cape Argus report, the ruling did not bring finality to the issue, as the questionable legislation still needed to be amended. The IIE hoped to emerge from court with a ruling forcing the government to provide a timeline pertaining to when exactly it would change the troublesome legislation.

The Justice Ministry accepted during proceedings at the High Court that the Act should be amended. But, said the IIE’s Dr Felicity Coughlan in court papers, the ‘difficulty with the Ministry’s position in the court was and remains that it is unable to provide a timeline within which such amendment will take place’.

Coughlan, who is responsible for the IIE’s academic affairs, added that their students sought certainty that they were studying for a recognised degree.

The matter will be heard in August.

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