Legal Aid Act 1971
Akta Bantuan Guaman 1971
Makes provisions for the grant of legal aid to certain persons and for matters connected with it.
Read the copy (English) — PDF, 42 pagesBahasa Melayu — PDF, 49 pages
Copy of the official text captured from the Laws of Malaysia portal (AGC) on 26 October 2026. Always check the official portal for the authoritative current version. Amendments made after the official “last updated” date are published separately as amending Acts (Act A…) on the portal.
| Number | Act 26 |
|---|---|
| Type | Federal Act |
| Applies to | Federal |
| Subject | Courts & legal profession |
| Year | 1971 |
| Official “last updated” | 29 June 1947 |
| Published by | Attorney General's Chambers — Laws of Malaysia portal (lom.agc.gov.my) |
| Text as at | 5 September 2022 |
| Latest amendment (as printed) | P.U. (A) 274/2022, in force 5 September 2022 |
| Royal Assent | 24 April 1971 |
| Published in the Gazette | 29 April 1971 |
Long title
An Act to make provisions for the grant of legal aid to certain persons and for matters connected with it.
Contents — Parts and sections
48 sections in 9 Parts, headings copied from the “ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS” of the official text (copy of 26 October 2026). Read the full wording in the PDF.
Definitions: section 2 (Interpretation).
Part I PRELIMINARY (2)
- s 1 Short title
- s 2 Interpretation
Part IA LEGAL AID SERVICES (2)
- s 2A Legal aid services
- s 2B Registration fee
Part II ADMINISTRATION (7)
- s 3 Director General of Legal Aid and other persons assisting him
- s 4 Overall supervision by the Minister
- s 5 Panels of solicitors
- s 6 (Deleted)
- s 7 (Deleted)
- s 8 (Deleted)
- s 9 (Deleted)
Part III LEGAL AID IN CRIMINAL CASES (2)
- s 10 Application for legal aid in criminal cases
- s 11 Free legal aid certificate
Part IV LEGAL AID IN CIVIL ACTIONS (19)
- s 12 General conditions of legal aid in civil actions
- s 13 Application for legal aid in civil cases
- s 14 Power of Director General to make inquiries
- s 15 Grant of legal aid certificates
- s 16 Additional powers to grant legal aid service
- s 16A Grant of legal aid certificate where Director General authorized by Minister to give legal aid
- s 16B (Deleted)
- s 17 (Deleted)
- s 18 Contributions from aided persons
- s 19 Cancellation of certificate
- s 20 Application for aid by more than one party
- s 21 Endorsement and filing of certificate
- s 22 Deposit in respect of out of pocket expenses
- s 23 Court may order payment of costs by aided person in certain event
- s 24 Legal aid not to discontinue without leave
- s 25 Costs
- s 26 Stay of proceedings upon making of application for legal aid
- s 27 Appeals by aided persons
- s 28 Rules of court
Part V LEGAL ADVICE (1)
- s 29 Right to and nature of legal advice
Part VA MEDIATION (6)
- s 29A Provisions of mediation services
- s 29B Dispute
- s 29C Mediation to be voluntary
- s 29D Settlement or agreement to be reduced into writing
- s 29E Confidential communications with a mediator
- s 29F Mediator
Part VB LEGAL COMPANION SERVICES (3)
- s 29G Provision of legal companion services
- s 29H Qualification for legal companion services
- s 29I Legal companion services
Part VI GENERAL (6)
- s 30 Privileges attaching to certain relationships
- s 31 False statement
- s 31A Finality of decision made under Act
- s 31B Exoneration from liability
- s 32 Regulations
- s 33 Repeal
Schedules: FIRST SCHEDULE — (Deleted) · SECOND SCHEDULE · THIRD SCHEDULE · FOURTH SCHEDULE · FIFTH SCHEDULE
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Federal Acts that this law's official text itself refers to (as “[Act N]”), most-referred first.
Cited on these pages
Glossary of legal termsGetting legal helpGetting help
Amendment history
| Amending law | Short title | In force from |
|---|---|---|
| P.U. (A) 214/1971 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Order 1971 | 25-06-1971 |
| P.U. (A) 293/1972 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Order 1972 | 22-09-1972 |
| P.U. (A) 104/1973 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Order 1973 | 07-04-1973 |
| P.U. (A) 46/1975 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Order 1975 | 01-03-1975 |
| P.U. (A) 27/1982 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Order 1982 | 01-02-1982 |
| Act A578 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Act 1984 | 20-01-1984 |
| Act A653 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Act 1986 | 16-05-1986 |
| Act A911 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Act 1995 | 17-02-1995 |
| Act A1188 | Legal Aid (Amendment) | 15-07-2003: |
| Act 2003 | for section 2, paragraphs 3(a), (b), (c) and (f) and section 12 [P.U. (B) 242/2003] 01-06-2005: other sections [P.U. (B) 177/2005] | |
| P.U. (A) 429/2011 | Legal Aid (Amendment of Third Schedule) Order 2011 | 01-01-2012 |
| Act A1548 | Legal Aid (Amendment) Act 2017 | 01-12-2017 |
| P.U. (A) 274/2022 | Legal Aid (Amendment of Second and Third Schedule) Order 2022 LAWS OF MALAYSIA ACT 26 LEGAL AID ACT 1971 | 05-09-2022 |
Copied from the “List of amendments” printed in the official text. Amendments made after the text's “as at” date are not in this list — check the portal for later amending Acts.
Version history
| Captured | Language | Official “last updated” | Pages | SHA-256 | File |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 October 2026 | Bahasa Melayu | 5 September 2022 | 49 | 6d9bd637b33d | PDF 0.4 MB |
| 26 October 2026 | English | 29 June 1947 | 42 | a6b3c7bae5c2 | PDF 0.4 MB |
A new version is kept only when the official file changes (different SHA-256 fingerprint). Older versions are never overwritten, so you can see what the text said on an earlier date.
Official source
- Official text (English) ↗
- Official text (Bahasa Melayu) ↗
- Attorney General's Chambers — Laws of Malaysia portal (lom.agc.gov.my) ↗
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