Professional misconduct of lawyers in Bharatham : - Part-1.
Opinion
02/10/2016.
755.
All Members,
Respected family members of this great holy Nation.
Sub : Professional misconduct of lawyers in Bharatham : - Part-1.
Ref : Media reports :
A. Lawyers attack journalists at Kerala High Court premises :
B. Shameful attempt by Kerala courts to silence media :
With no compromise at sight, people are wondering if pressure tactics of the lawyers have the tacit support of the government.
C. Attack on media persons by advocates: Advocate General favours judicial probe :
Criticising the advocates' protest, Chairman of Kerala State Human Rights Commission Justice J B Koshy said advocates boycotting court proceedings was against the Supreme Court's directive.
1. NOTE :-
a). Advocacy is a noble profession and an advocate is the most accountable, privileged and erudite person of the society and his act are role model for the society, which are necessary to be regulated.
b). Professional misconduct is the behaviour outside the bounds of what is considered acceptable or worthy of its membership by the governing body of a profession.
c). Professional misconduct refers to disgraceful or dishonourable conduct not befitting an advocate.
d). Chapter V of the Advocate Act, 1961, deals with the conduct of Advocates.
e). It describes provisions relating to punishment for professional and other misconducts. Section 35(1) of the Advocate Act, 1961, says, where on receipt of a complaint or otherwise a State Bar Council has reason to believe that any advocate on its roll has been guilty of professional or other misconduct, it shall refer the case for disposal to it disciplinary committee.
f). Generally legal profession is not a trade or business, it’s a gracious, noble, and decontaminated profession of the society.
g). Members belonging to this profession should not encourage deceitfulness and corruption, but they have to strive to secure justice to their clients. The credibility and reputation of the profession depends upon the manner in which the members of the profession conduct themselves. It’s a symbol of healthy relationship between Bar and Bench.
h). The Advocates Act, 1961 as well Indian Bar Council are silent in providing exact definition for professional misconduct because of its wide scope, though under Advocates Act, 1961 to take disciplinary action punishments are prescribed when the credibility and reputation on the profession comes under a clout on account of acts of omission and commission by any member of the profession.
2. Meaning and Definition : -
Profession is a vocation requiring some significant body of knowledge that is applied with high degree of consistency in the service of some relevant segment of society, by Hodge and Johnson. Occupation especially one requiring advanced education and special training by A. S. Hornby. It is different from other types of jobs, in the sense that it requires skills and these skills will be improved with experience.
The attributes of a profession as laid down by Dalton E. McFarland are;
a). The existence of a body of specialized knowledge or techniques
b). Formalized method of acquiring training and experience
c). The establishment of representative organization with professionalism as its goal.
d). The formation of ethical codes for the guidance of conduct.
e). The charging of fees based on services but with due regards for the priority of service over the desire for monetary rewards.
A person who carries/undertakes the profession is called a professional. Depending on the profession a person undertakes, he/she is identified with a special name relevant to the profession.
3). Misconduct : -
Misconduct, according to Oxford dictionary means a wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated act.
It is a behavior not conforming to prevailing standards or laws, or dishonest or bad management, especially by persons entrusted or engaged to act on another's behalf.
The expression professional misconduct in the simple sense means improper conduct.
In law profession misconduct means an act done willfully with a wrong intention by the people engaged in the profession.
It means any activity or behaviour of an advocate in violation of professional ethics for his selfish ends.
If an act creates disrespect to his profession and makes him unworthy of being in the profession, it amounts to professional misconduct.
In other word an act which disqualifies an advocate to continue in legal profession.
My View :
1. I recall my memory while in service : While on leave to home, during journey, usual practise of visiting Higginbothams book stall for reading material;
2. My attention is drawn to a book : "Perry Mason" - a fictional character a criminal defense lawyer who is the main character in works of detective fiction written by Erle Stanley Gardner.
3. Thus I had a collection of more than 80 novels and short stories most of which involve a client's murder trial. Typically, Mason establishes his client's innocence by implicating another character, who then confesses.
4. The Perry Mason series ranks third in the top ten best selling book series. In 2015 the American Bar Association's publishing imprint, Ankerwycke, began reissuing Gardner's Perry Mason books, which had been out of print in the United States.
5. Gardner depicts Mason as a lawyer who fights hard on behalf of his clients and who enjoys unusual, difficult or nearly-hopeless cases. He frequently accepts clients on a whim based on his curiosity about their problem, for a minimal retainer, and finances the investigation of their cases himself if necessary.
6. Once Perry said to the prosecutor, "It must cause you some pain having expended all that effort in your case to have the charges dismissed." And the prosecutor looked up and said, "No. My job as a prosecutor is do justice and justice is served when a guilty man is convicted and when an innocent man is not." And I thought to myself that's quite amazing to be able to serve that role.
7. The Perry Mason novels inspired retired Chief Judge Robert M. Bell of the Maryland Court of Appeals to become a lawyer. "I used to read those growing up", he recalled in 2012. "I got the sense that a lawyer could do good things for folk and was important to our community. That’s what I wanted to do."
8. Perry Mason, his conduct and character attracted me and motivated how a good person to be;
9. Truth is important to Mason, never take cases of born criminals, drug mafia, etc
10. Mason inspired me a lot, dream at least one lawyer in Bharatham exemplary truthful, always stands by the side of innocent!!!
Thank you for reading
JAIHIND.
To be continued ...
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