QUALITY ASSURANCE, COMPLIANCE & LICENSING DEPARTMENT

The Quality Assurance, Compliance & Licensing Department (“QCL”) assists and supports Council achieve its primary objective of promoting legal education and training and maintenance of the highest possible standards in legal education in Kenya. The department implements the Legal Education Act No. 27 of 2012 and the Council of Legal Education (Accreditation and Quality Assurance) Regulations, 2016 through two overarching functions:

1. LICENSING OF LEGAL EDUCATION PROVIDERS IN KENYA

This process is guided by the Legal Education (Accreditation and Quality Assurance) Regulations, 2016 (“Regulations”). The Regulations apply to any Legal Education Provider. According to the Regulations, a legal education provider is any institution or place of learning, however established, whose object is to provide legal education and training.

Legal education is defined as any education or training programme offered by an institution whose object is to impart knowledge or skills in the area of law, or such other educational or institutional training that the Council may declare to be legal education and training. This definition is wide enough to cover education, which does not necessarily prepare a person to be the traditional lawyer, but in one way or another, to operate within a field of law. This may include training of paralegal, training on judicial systems etc. The Regulations shall apply to any institution that is or intends to offer legal education in the Country. All these institutions are required to apply for licensing before mounting any legal education programme in the country.

The application for licensing as a legal education provider is undertaken through the following key steps:

Institutions are required to apply in the format set out in the first schedule of the 2016 Regulations, using Form CLE/L/001.

Applicants MUST also furnish Council the following as part of the application;

Within thirty days of receipt of the application, Council shall;

Post Accreditation Requirements

In order to ensure quality legal education of a licensed institution, Council shall undertake audits of the quality of legal education offered by a legal education provider. Council also may on its own motion or at the request of any person investigate whether or not a legal education provider is complying with the Act or Regulations.

2 . LICENSING OF LEGAL EDUCATION PROVIDERS IN KENYA

Recognition and approval of foreign qualifications means the legal and regulatory framework as well as the processes and procedures by which the Council of Legal Education determines whether applications for recognition of foreign qualifications in Law for purposes of admission to the Roll of Advocates in Kenya meet the standards prescribed in the Legal Education Act, 2012 (“LEA”) <link to the Act> and the Legal Education (Accreditation and Quality Assurance) Regulations, 2016 (the “Regulations”) <link to Regulations>.

Section 8(1)(e) of the Legal Education Act, 2012 provides the legal foundation upon which Council recognizes and approves foreign qualifications in law. This provision is strengthened by rule 7 of the Regulations which sets out the application procedure for recognition and approval of foreign qualifications. All persons who hold foreign qualifications in law and who are desirous to join the Advocates Training Programme (“ATP”) in Kenya must apply to Council to have their foreign qualifications in law recognized by Council.

ALL APPLICANTS for recognition and approval of foreign qualifications in law and/or applicants seeking clearance to join the Advocates Training Programme must ensure that their applications are complete and submitted to Council timeously.

Council will not receive or process incomplete applications.

The following are the requirements for each application.

1. Applications for Recognition and Approval of Foreign Law Qualifications

The applicant must attach:

2. Applications for clearance to join the Advocates Training Programme

The applicant must attach:

Applicants are HEREBY CAUTIONED that under Section 43(1)(a) of the Legal Education Act, No. 27 of 2012, any person who furnishes or causes to be furnished false documents or makes any false statement or representation to Council for any purpose under this Act commits an offence.

Applicants are FURTHER CAUTIONED to desist from acts of impropriety, intimidation and/or harassment of Council staff in connection with any of the above matters.