s 78A Power to make rules on professional indemnity
(1) The Bar Council may, with the approval of the Attorney General, make rules concerning the taking out of professional indemnity for advocates and solicitors against any class of professional liability and the rules may for the purpose of providing such indemnity do all or any of the following: (a) authorize the Bar Council to take out and maintain insurance in the name of the Malaysian Bar with any person permitted by law to carry on professional liability insurance business or pecuniary loss insurance business and covering every practising advocate and solicitor; (b) authorize the Bar Council to establish and maintain a fund for the aforesaid purpose; or (c) require advocates and solicitors to take out and maintain insurance. (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), rules made under this section may— (a) specify the terms and conditions on which professional indemnity is to be available; (b) provide for the management, administration and protection of any fund established under subsection (1) and require advocates and solicitors to make payments to any such fund; (c) require advocates and solicitors to make payments by way of premiums on any policy taken out under subsection (1) and provide for proceedings by the Malaysian Bar or its insurers against any advocate and solicitor who fails to do so for recovery of the appropriate premiums; (d) prescribe the conditions which an insurance policy must satisfy for the purpose of paragraph (1)(c); (e) authorize the Bar Council to determine the amount of any payment required by the rules; (f) specify the circumstances in which where an advocate and solicitor has failed to comply with the rules, proceedings in respect of any sum paid by way of indemnity may be taken against him by the Malaysian Bar or its insurers; (g) prescribe that an advocate and solicitor shall not be entitled to a Sijil Annual unless he is insured as required by the rules for the period to which the Sijil Annual relates; (h) empower the Bar Council to take such steps as it considers necessary or expedient to ascertain and ensure that the rules are complied with; and (i) contain such procedural, incidental or other provisions as may be necessary or expedient for the purposes of the rules. (3) Nothing in this section shall affect the right of any advocate and solicitor, in addition to the indemnity provided in the rules made under this section, to insure himself further against loss arising from such claims as may be instituted against him. (4) Any rules made under this section shall not come into operation until they have been published in the Gazette.