The proposed Legal Profession Regulation Act does not specifically provide for stamp and seal unlike the previous attempts at having a new Legal Practitioners Act.
In the respective 2004, 2007 and 2012 Legal Practitioners Bills, specific provision was made for an NBA controlled Stamp and Seal.
The non provision for stamp and seal in the present draft bill is not surprising because regulating activities like stamp and seal falls under the following functions of the Legal Profession Regulation Council of Nigeria established by the proposed Act:
i. regulate the legal profession in the overall interest of the public;
ii. achieve the regulatory objectives and professional principles set out in this Bill;
iii. make rules for the regulation of professional conduct and ethics in the profession
It would therefore not be necessary to specifically write a provision on stamp and seal in the law.
At present Stamp and seal has been provided under Rule 10 of the Rules of Professional Conduct enacted by the Bar Council in 2007. The Rule states that “A lawyer, acting in his capacity as a legal practitioner, legal officer or adviser of any government department or Ministry or any corporation, shall not sign or file a legal document unless there is affixed on any such document a seal and stamp approved by the Nigerian Bar Association.”
The Rule allows lawyers to use only the stamp and seal approved by the NBA but does not state that NBA can make additional Rules on Stamp and Seal like making the stamp expiable. Such additional condition for the use of the Stamp should require the Bar Council’s enactment.
In the Future the Bar Council’s powers would be exercised by the Legal Profession Regulation Council of Nigeria and our Stamp shall not be expiable.
