UiTM Faculty of Law

UiTM Faculty of Law is the law school of Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), a Malaysian public university headquartered in Shah Alam, Selangor. Established in 1968, it is one of UiTM’s professional faculties and has developed from a small unit delivering externally examined British qualifications into a faculty offering integrated academic and professional legal education. The faculty began as the School of Administration and Law and later operated as the Faculty of Administration and Law. Its early provision included the University of London external LL.B (Hons) programme and qualifications associated with the Chartered Institute of Secretaries, while its principal internal course was a diploma in public administration and local government. This combination reflected the institution’s original emphasis on preparing personnel for public administration and related professional work. Its programme structure changed substantially over time. The University of London LL.B (Hons) route was discontinued in 1978 and replaced by the Diploma in Law, a three-year programme modeled on British undergraduate legal education but delivered through UiTM’s semester system. A one-year Advanced Diploma in Law was introduced in 1982 for diploma graduates. The advanced programme was designed as professional preparation and used a simulated legal-office environment in which students worked through case studies and practical exercises. It was later developed into the faculty’s LL.B (Hons) programme. The Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons), introduced in 2002, represented another stage in the faculty’s undergraduate development. In later years the BLS programme was discontinued, leaving the four-year LL.B (Hons) as the central undergraduate law qualification. The programme retains a substantial professional-training component and is intended to prepare graduates for legal and law-related careers, subject to the requirements of the relevant Malaysian authorities. Career pathways associated with the faculty’s training include advocacy and solicitorship, deputy public prosecution, federal counsel, parliamentary drafting, judicial and legal service positions, arbitration, and other public or private legal work. The faculty is also associated with practical and vocational approaches to legal education. Its simulated legal-office model and student-focused practice exercises were cited in Malaysian discussions about a proposed Common Bar Course in the early 2010s. That proposed national framework was intended to combine academic study with vocational skills, legal communication, practice management, and supervised experience in law firms. The proposal was considered by the Legal Qualifying Board, although the faculty’s existing programme and the proposal should not be treated as the same qualification. On 14 January 2004, the former Faculty of Administration and Law was divided into two faculties: the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies. This separation established the contemporary faculty as a distinct academic unit. The faculty has been described as a notable Malaysian public law school and serves students through legal education, professional preparation, research, and engagement with Malaysia’s legal institutions. Reference material identifies a teaching community of approximately 100 academic staff and a student population of about 1,144 across pre-law and law programmes; these figures may change over time. The faculty has included prominent legal academics and practitioners among its staff and adjunct faculty, including Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi and former Malaysian Chief Justice Tun Datuk Seri Zaki Tun Azmi. Its alumni include senior judges, public officials, legal practitioners, academics, and figures from other professional fields. The current dean identified in the available reference material is Prof. Madya Dr. Nur Ezan Rahmat, who assumed the position in 2024.

UiTM Faculty of Law was established in 1968 within the institutional development of Universiti Teknologi MARA. It initially operated as the School of Administration and Law and later became the Faculty of Administration and Law. The early unit combined legal education with public-administration training. It offered externally examined British programmes, including the University of London LL.B (Hons), and provided a qualification associated with the Chartered Institute of Secretaries. Its main internal course at the time was a diploma in public administration and local government. The faculty’s legal programmes evolved in response to Malaysian professional and educational requirements. In 1978, the University of London LL.B (Hons) programme was discontinued and replaced by the Diploma in Law. The diploma was a three-year course based on British undergraduate law structures, but it was delivered under UiTM’s semester system. In 1982, the faculty added a one-year Advanced Diploma in Law for graduates of the diploma programme. The advanced course was conceived as a professional qualification and incorporated simulated legal-office work, firm assignments, case studies, and practical preparation for legal practice. It was subsequently transformed into the LL.B (Hons) route. The Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons), or BLS (Hons), was introduced in 2002. Two years later, on 14 January 2004, the Faculty of Administration and Law was divided into the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies. The division gave legal education a separate institutional identity within UiTM and created the modern Faculty of Law as a distinct academic faculty. The faculty later discontinued the BLS (Hons) programme and concentrated its undergraduate provision on the four-year LL.B (Hons). The degree includes a final-year or equivalent professional-training emphasis intended to bridge academic learning and practical legal work. Graduates may pursue careers in advocacy and solicitorship, public prosecution, federal counsel work, parliamentary drafting, judicial and legal services, arbitration, and other law-related occupations, subject to Malaysian admission, qualification, and employment rules. UiTM Faculty of Law has also featured in national discussions about the structure of professional legal education. In 2011, the Attorney-General announced that the Legal Qualifying Board was examining a proposed Common Bar Course. The proposed 20-month model was to include legal language and communication, practice management, a simulated Student Law Office, and a combination of full-time study with part-time pupillage in law firms. The faculty’s existing simulated legal-office methodology was identified as an example of vocational legal education, although the proposal was a broader national framework rather than a renamed UiTM course. The faculty has experienced controversy as well as institutional development. Former dean Khalid Yusoff was jailed for three months in 2007 in a case concerning forgery and cheating related to the July 2001 Certificate in Legal Practice examination master list. The Court of Appeal freed him in May 2010. This episode is part of the faculty’s documented history but does not define its academic role. The faculty’s academic community has included senior legal scholars and practitioners. Emeritus Professor Datuk Dr Shad Saleem Faruqi is identified as notable staff, while former Malaysian Chief Justice Tun Datuk Seri Zaki Tun Azmi served as an adjunct professor. Alumni have included senior judicial officers, public officials, legal practitioners, academics, and professionals in other fields. The faculty is located in Shah Alam and remains an active component of UiTM’s professional-faculty structure. Reference material identifies roughly 100 academic staff and approximately 1,144 students across pre-law and law programmes, though enrolment and staffing figures are subject to change. Prof. Madya Dr Nur Ezan Rahmat is identified as dean from 2024.

• 2024

  Nur Ezan Rahmat becomes dean

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Prof. Madya Dr. Nur Ezan Rahmat assumed the deanship.

• 2010

  Court of Appeal frees former dean

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The Court of Appeal freed Khalid Yusoff in May.

• 2007

  Former dean convicted in examination-list case

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  Former dean Khalid Yusoff received a three-month prison sentence in a case involving forgery and cheating connected with a legal-practice examination list.

• 2004

  Faculty of Administration and Law divided

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The former combined faculty was separated into the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies on 14 January.

• 2002

  Bachelor of Legal Studies introduced

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons) was introduced as part of the faculty’s undergraduate programme development.

• 1982

  Advanced Diploma in Law introduced

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  A one-year Advanced Diploma in Law was introduced for diploma graduates, with a strong professional and simulated-practice orientation.

• 1978

  Diploma in Law replaces external LL.B route

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The University of London LL.B (Hons) programme was discontinued and replaced by a three-year Diploma in Law delivered through UiTM’s semester system.

• 1968

  Law education unit established

  [1]UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org

  The institution that became UiTM Faculty of Law was founded as a school combining administration and legal education.

A Malaysian public-university law faculty positioned around academically grounded and practice-oriented legal education, with particular emphasis on professional preparation for public legal services, private practice, judicial work, advocacy, drafting, and related legal careers.

• Undergraduate law degree

  Bachelor of Laws (Honours)

  The faculty’s principal current undergraduate law programme is a four-year LL.B (Hons). It combines academic study of law with a professional-training component and prepares students for legal and law-related careers, including practice, public prosecution, government counsel, drafting, judicial and legal services, and arbitration, subject to applicable Malaysian qualification and admission requirements.

• Undergraduate legal studies degree · 2002

  Bachelor of Legal Studies (Honours)

  The BLS (Hons) was introduced in 2002 as an undergraduate legal-studies programme. It formed part of the faculty’s expansion of internal degree education but was later discontinued.

• Diploma law programme · 1978

  Diploma in Law

  Introduced in 1978 after the discontinuation of the University of London external LL.B route, the Diploma in Law was a three-year programme modeled on British undergraduate legal education and delivered through UiTM’s semester structure.

• Professional legal training · 1982

  Advanced Diploma in Law

  The one-year Advanced Diploma in Law was introduced in 1982 for Diploma in Law graduates. It emphasized professional preparation through a simulated legal-office environment, case studies, and practice-oriented assignments, and later developed into the LL.B (Hons) programme.

• Preparatory legal education

  Pre-law studies

  Pre-law provision forms part of the faculty’s student pipeline and introduces learners to foundational concepts and skills before progression into degree-level legal education.

• 2007

  Khalid Yusoff examination-list case

  Former dean Khalid Yusoff was jailed for three months in a case involving forgery and cheating concerning the July 2001 Certificate in Legal Practice examination master list. The Court of Appeal freed him in May 2010.

  Source

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• 2011

  Contribute to discussion of the proposed Common Bar CourseStrategy

  Background

  Malaysia’s Legal Qualifying Board considered a national 20-month vocational course combining academic modules, practice skills, and law-firm experience.

  Action taken

  The proposal included legal communication, practice management, a Student Law Office, and supervised part-time pupillage; UiTM’s simulated legal-office training was cited as a relevant model.

  Aftermath

  The faculty’s practical teaching model gained visibility in the discussion, although the proposed course was a national regulatory initiative rather than a UiTM product launch.

  Source

• 2004

  Separate law from administration studiesStrategy

  Background

  UiTM reorganized the combined Faculty of Administration and Law into separate academic units.

  Action taken

  On 14 January 2004, it created the Faculty of Law and the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies.

  Aftermath

  The change established the contemporary Faculty of Law as a distinct professional faculty.

  Source

• 2002

  Introduce the Bachelor of Legal StudiesProduct launch

  Background

  The faculty expanded its internal undergraduate provision beyond its earlier diploma and professional-training routes.

  Action taken

  It launched the Bachelor of Legal Studies (Hons).

  Aftermath

  The programme was later discontinued as the faculty concentrated its undergraduate offering on the LL.B (Hons).

  Source

• 1982

  Launch of the Advanced Diploma in LawProduct launch

  Background

  Diploma graduates required a further route combining legal knowledge with preparation for professional practice.

  Action taken

  The faculty introduced a one-year Advanced Diploma in Law using simulated legal-office work and case-based exercises.

  Aftermath

  The programme later evolved into the faculty’s LL.B (Hons) professional-training model.

  Source

• 1978

  Replace the University of London LL.B route with a Diploma in LawStrategy

  Background

  The faculty changed its undergraduate legal-education structure after discontinuing the externally examined University of London LL.B (Hons) programme.

  Action taken

  It introduced a three-year Diploma in Law based on British undergraduate law structures but delivered on UiTM’s semester system.

  Aftermath

  The diploma became an important stage in the faculty’s later development of advanced and professional legal training.

  Source

1. 1UiTM Faculty of Lawen.wikipedia.org
2. 2UiTM Faculty of Law official websitelaw.uitm.edu.my