Professional ethics

What is professional ethics?

Law is a profession and the lawyers have certain obligations to their clients and to
the Court. The professional ethics are codes of conduct or rules that are
formulated to acquire the publics trustworthiness and to reassure them highest
degrees of expertise.
The main object of professional ethics is explained by Chief Justice Marshall The
fundamental aim of legal ethics is to maintain the honour and dignity of legal
profession to secure a spirit of friendly co-operation between the bench and the
brain the promotion of the highest standards of justice, to establish honourable and
fair dealing of the counsel with his client, opponent and witness to establish a spirit
of brother-hood in the bar itself and to secure that lawyers discharge their
responsibilities to the community generally1
Professional ethics is the code written or unwritten for regulating the behaviour
towards himself, his client and his adversary in law and towards the Court. Legal
profession is not a business but profession which has been created by the state for
the public good. Consequently the essence of the profession lies in three things:
(1)Organisation of its members for the performance of its functions,
(2) Maintenance of certain standards, intellectual and ethical, for the dignity of
the profession,
(3)

Subordination of pecuniary gains to efficient service

ADVOCATES ACT 1961

The Advocates Act 1961 empowers the Bar Council of India to make rules so as to
prescribe the standards of professional conduct and etiquette to be observed by the

1 Legal ethics by Dr. Kailash Rai published by Central Law Publications, 10th edition
2011.

advocates. It has been made clear that such rules shall have only when they are
approved by the Chief Justice of India2
Under sec 7 of the Advocates Act 1961, the functions of the Bar Council include
the laying down of standards of professional conduct and etiquette which
advocates must follow to maintain the dignity and purity of the profession3
The Supreme Court has held that the High Court has the power and authority to
strip down the post of the senior advocate designated by the High Court4
CONTEMPT OF COURT ACT 1971
The Act does not give statutory definition but classifies the term contempt of
Court. Contempt of Court in general means to offend the dignity of the Court and
lower the prestige of the Court. Contempt of Court is disobedience to the Court by
acting in authority, justice and dignity thereof.
Halsbury defines as any act done or writing published which is calculated to bring
a pole or judge into content or lower his authority or to interfere with the due
course of justice or the lawful process of the Court is contempt of Court.
The contempt of Court act, 1971 defines contempt as civil contempt and criminal
contempt5
CIVIL CONTEMPT

The Act says that the civil contempt means any wilful disobedience to any
judgement, decree, direction order, writ or other process of Court or wilful breach
of undertaking given to the Court6
2 Sec 49 (1) (c) of the Advocates Act 1961
3 Indian Council of Legal Aid and Advice vs. Bar Council of India, AIR 1995 SC 691:
1995(1) SCC 732: 1995 (1) JT 423: 1995 (1) Scale 181: 1995(1) UJ 344
4 R.K. Anand v. Registrar, Delhi High Court 2009
5 Sec 2(a) of the Contempt of Court Act 1971
6 Sec 2(b) of the Contempt of Court Act 1971

CRIMINAL CONTEMPT

The Act provides that criminal contempt means publication whether by words,
spoken or written or by signs, or by visible representation, or otherwise of any
matter of the doing of any act whatsoever7 which
Scandalises or tends to scandalise or lower or tends to lower the authority of the
Court8 or,

Prejudices or interferes or tends to interfere with the due course of any judicial
proceeding9 or
Interferes or tends to interfere with, or obstructs or tends to obstruct, the
administration of justice in any other manner10
ADVOCACY
Advocacy means good command over language, good voice, and good power of
expression, good knowledge of the law, good common sense and presence of mind
and in addition control over temper helps in becoming a successful advocate.
According to Justice Ram Labhaya The art of winning cases is achieved by
methodical preparation of the case with chronological brief statements of facts and
7 Sec 2(c) of the Contempt of Court Act 1971
8 In Raj Kumar Singh v. High Court of Madhya Pradesh, the Supreme Court has held
that attributing improper motive to a judge or a scurrilous abuse of a judge will be
taken as scandalising the Court.
9 In A.G.V. Times Newspaper Ltd, Lord Reid has made it clear that there has been
and there still is in England a strong and generally held feeling that trial by
newspaper is wrong and should be prevented.
10 In J.R. Parashar v. Prashant Bhushan the Supreme Court has held that holding a
dharna by itself may not amount to contempt of Court, but if by holding a dharna
access to the Court is hindered and the officers of the Court and members of police
are not allowed free ingress and egress or the proceeding in the Court are otherwise
disturbed or hampered, the dharna may amount to contempt because
administration of justice would be obstructed.

the relevant provisions of the statute and minimum but relevant citations of cases is
preferred which has same or similar principles than citing a large number of cases.
Justice Abbot Parry has mentioned the seven lamps of
advocacy:

Honesty - Advocates of all generations have been devotee of honesty

Courage - Courage is the quality that enables a person to control fear in face
of danger, pain, misfortune etc. An advocate must possess courage.

Industry - Advocacy is indeed a life of Industry. An advocate must study his

brief in the same way that an actor studied his part. An advocate must live like a
hermit and works like a horse by Lord Eldon.

Wit - Wit means cleaver and humorous expression of ideas, liveliness of

sprit

Eloquence - Success depends upon this characteristic. It means fluent

Speaking and skilful use of language to persuade or to appeal to the feeling of
others. I.e. art of oratory.

Judgment - An advocate could be in a position to judge the merit and

demerit of a case on hearing the brief and seeing the documents. He should inform
his client the legal position openly to his client.

Fellowship & Tact - An advocate must be in a position to tackle and win his
client, opponent party, opponent advocate in a smoother way(K.V.K.Aiyer)
CONCLUSION
The sad truth is becoming more and more apparent that our profession has been
having a steady decline of established traditions and canons of professional ethics
which has evolved over centuries in many parts of the world. There is a growing
concern over professionalism to profit, personal aims and ambitions. We need to
remind ourselves of the honourable nature of our profession. We, belonging to the
noble profession must not have pecuniary success as a goal and service is ideal and
earning remuneration must always be subservient to this main purpose.

Reference: Advocates act, 1962 and professional ethics by Sandeep Bhalla published by Nasik Law
house, second edition 2004.