LEGAL ETHICS BY KAILASH RAI

-11: INTRODUCTION
Legal ethics, accountability of lawyers and bench-bar relations is one of the four practical training
papers included in the new syllabus for the LL.B degree. It requiresthe students to study
thoroughly the various concepts like court, contempt of court,court of record, legal ethics,
professional or other misconduct, etc. It requires thestudents to study the provisions of the
Advocates Act, Contempt of court Act and alsoof the Constitution relating to the contempt of
court.
1.1Legal Ethics
Legal ethics may be taken to mean the body of rules and practice which determine the professional
conduct of the members of bar. The main object of legal ethics has well been explained by the
Chief Justice Marshall The fundamental aim of Legal Ethicsis to maintain the honour and
dignity of the Law Profession, to secure a spirit of friendly co-operation between the bench
and the brain the promotion of the higheststandards of justice, to establish honorable and fair
dealing of the counsel with hisclient, opponent and witness, to establish a spirit of brother-hood in
the bar itself andto secure that lawyers discharge their responsibilities to the community
generally.
Actually the legal profession is a profession of great honour. It has been created notfor private
gain but for public good. It is a partner with the judiciary in theadministration of justice. An
advocate is an officer of the court. The court acts on hisstatements.To maintain the
honour of the legal profession, the Advocate Act has been passed andthe Bar Councils have
been established. The State Bar Councils and the Bar Councilof India can punish the advocate for
the professional or other misconduct. From the preamble of the rules made by the Bar Council of
India it becomes clear that theserules contain canons of conduct and etiquette adopted as general
guides and thespecific mentioned thereof should not be construed as a denial of the existence
of other equally imperative, though not specifically mentioned.
-2The expression professional or other misconduct under section 35 of the AdvocatesAct
is not confined to the acts committed in professional capacity. Even themisconduct in capacity
other than professional capacity is included within themeaning of the expression professional or
other misconduct. The Bar Council of India has made several rules so as to specify the
duties of an advocate towards thecourt, client, opponent and colleagues, etc.
1.2 Accountancy

The rule provides that an advocate should keep accounts of the clients moneyentrusted to him
and the account should show the amounts received from the client or on his behalf, the
expenses incurred for him and the debits made on account of feeswith respective dates and
all other necessary particular. Where moneys are receivedfrom or on account of a client,
the entries in the accounts should contain a reference asto whether the amounts have been received
for fees or expenses and during the courseof the proceeding. No advocate shall expect with the
consent in writing of the clientconcerned, be at liberty to divert any portion of the expenses
towards fees. The libertyto appropriate towards the settled fee due to him. Where the fee has been
left unsettledthe advocate shall be entitled to deduct, out of any moneys of the client remaining
inhis hands, at the termination of the proceeding for which he has been engaged, the fee payable
under the rules of the court in force for the time being or by then settled andthe balance (if any)
shall be refunded to the client. A copy of the clients accountshall be furnished to him on demand
provided the necessary copying charge is paid.Rule makes it clear that an advocate shall not enter
into arrangements whereby fundsin his hands are converted into loans.
1.3Accountability
The advocate has been made accountable. Section 35 of the Advocates Act providesthat 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
its disciplinary committee. Thedisciplinary committee can punish the advocate for the professional
or other
-3misconduct. Where on receipt of complaint or otherwise the Bar Council of India hasreason to
believe that any advocate whose name is not entered on any State Roll has been guilty of
professional or other misconduct, it shall refer the case for disposal toits disciplinary committee.
This committee can punish the advocate for suchmisconduct the professional or other misconduct
includes the breach of dutiesspecified by the rules made by the Bar Council of India. The breach
of duty has thus been made punishable.
1.4Contempt of Court
Contempt of court is a serious challenge to the majesty of law. Sometimes it iscommitted in
ignorance i.e, the contemnor has no knowledge as to the meaning of thecontempt. Consequently,
a definition of the expression contempt of court is of muchutility, but unfortunately there is no
clear and definite definition of this expression.The Contempt of Court Act, 1971 defines it as a civil
contempt or criminal contempt.Actually, it is not definition but classification of contempt
of court. Actually,contempt of court cannot be defined exhaustively but a workable definition
is possible. It is an act or omission which interferes or tends to interfere with
theadministration of justice, provided that if the interference with the administration of justice is
in the form of disobedience to the order of the court or breach of undertakinggiven to the court, it
will amount to contempt o court only when the obedience or breach is willful.Civil contempt has
been defined as willful disobedience to any judgment, decree,direction, order, writ or other
process of a court or willful breach of an undertakinggiven to a court. Criminal contempt

of court means the publication of any matter or doing of any other act which has resulted or likely
to result in any one of the followingconsequences-(1) Scandalizes or tend to scandalize or
lowers or tends to lower the authority of anycourt;(2) Prejudices or interferes or tends to
interfere with, the due course of any judicial proceeding; or