LPC tramples on indigenous languages
Solidarity has rejected the Legal Practice Council’s (LPC’s) attempt to put its own interests above the interests of lawyers by abolishing admission examinations for candidate attorneys in Afrikaans.
From this year, candidates for Bar, board and other legal exams, will not have the option of writing in Afrikaans.
The LPC said it was pointless to continue offering exams in the language as only about one percent wrote in that language.
The Solidarity Law Network (SLN) says it has not received any response from the LPC following the network’s recent letter addressed to the council in which it requested, among other things, to engage in discussions with the LPC.
Riaan Visser, head of the SLN, says this amounts to blatant contempt of Afrikaans as an indigenous language.
SLN warned that the LPC must negotiate the matter if it wants to avoid legal action.
As previously reported, the Pan SA Language Board (PanSALB) has also criticised the move, saying it is unconstitutional.
Many legal practitioners also complained the provision was an unfair advantage for Afrikaans speakers.
LPC spokesperson Kabelo Letebele said statistics from 2021 to 2023 show 5 000 to 8 000 candidates wrote each exam, but only 26 or fewer sought to write papers in Afrikaans.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
