In Malaysia a mobile app will help people prepare legal documents

Malaysian law firm Bon Advocates prepares to develop mobile app for legal documents. It aims to help the users with basic documents such as sales and purchase agreements, wills, divorce petitions and bail applications. Next year the DIY law app should be ready for the public.

The legal profession, however, is concerned. “I think it’s a bit reckless, if you don’t know your rights, and you start doing these things on your own because you won’t know the implications and ramifications” said Ragunath Kesavan from the Bar Council.

A criminal lawyer is worried about lay people’s understanding of the various offences and procedural intricacies: “A lay person will not be able to appreciate the distinctions. Even some lawyers get such distinctions mixed up. And in pleading guilty and doing mitigation, does a layperson know the legal consequences of pleading guilty? Would a layperson know what is the sentencing pattern of a particular offence?”

Read more about the Malaysian access to justice app and the controversies around it here.

 

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