Duties of an Advocate towards the court, public, client, and opponent advocate are provided under Part of the Bar Council of India Rules. The advocate is considered as an officer of the court and the advocate plays an important role in the administration of justice. In this article, we will see the duties of an advocate in brief.
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| Duties of an Advocate |
Duties of an Advocate
Advocacy is a profession that comes into existence in England during the 12th Century. Advocacy is a noble profession and it cannot correspond with any other profession like an engineer, businessman etc.
Advocacy is the part of the judiciary and the administration of justice. The bar and bench are two sides of Justice that’s why the advocate is called an officer of the court.
In this post, we will discuss some of the important duties that the advocate should follow;
- Duties of an Advocate towards Public
- Duties of an Advocate towards Court
- Duties of an Advocate towards his Client
- Duty of an Advocate towards Opponent Advocate
- Duty of Advocate towards Colleagues
- Duty to Act in Dignified Manner
- An Advocate Should Communicate in Private
These are the duties of an advocate. Let’s discuss in brief the duties of the advocate.
1. Duties of an Advocate towards Public
The advocate is a privileged member of society. The advocate has a duty towards the public and society. Being a citizen of this country, the advocate has a huge responsibility to protect the country and lead society.
1. The advocate shall endeavour to make the laws suitable to the welfare of the people and society.
2. The advocate should protect the liberty and freedom of the people.
3. The advocate always guards the fundamental and human rights of the people in respect of the constitution.
4. The advocate should always be dedicated to the public service.
5. The advocate should make efforts to educate the people and society to respect the law and court of justice.
6. The advocate should always help to constitute Legal Aid Societies to render legal assistance to poor and needy people free of charge.
7. The advocate should provide Legal Education to the illiterate people of the society through the Legal Aid campaign.
2. Duties of an Advocate towards Court
As said above, an advocate is an officer of the court and possesses some duties of an advocate towards the court and also plays important role in the administration of justice. The advocate is an honoured member of society. Advocate is a member of the Bar Council and to stick with that he has to be lawful and moral not only in the legal profession but in society also. The advocate should follow the principles of professional ethics and etiquette.
The provisions relating to duties of an advocate to the court are provided under rules 36 to 39 of Part VI of Bar Council of India Rules are deal with the Advocates duty to the Court.
These are the duties of an advocate to the court;
1. While presenting the case the advocate should conduct with dignity and self-respect.
2. The advocate should not influence the decision given by the court.
3. Advocates should maintain the dignity of the judge and always be respectful to the judge not only in the court but also in front of his client and in society.
4. The argument of an advocate before the court must be straightforward, clear and concise and should not waste the valuable time of the judges.
5. The advocate or his client should not resort to any unfair practices.
6. Advocate should maintain the dress code while appearing in the court as prescribed in the Advocates Act, 1961.
7. The advocate band and gowns should be worn in the court premises only and not outside the court.
8. The advocate must be tactful while arguing before the court and should not mislead the court.
9. Advocate should not take any case of his family members and relatives.
10. Advocates should cooperate with the bench in the court.
11. Advocates should not laugh or speak aloud in the courtroom.
12. While presenting the case advocate should not leave the court without the permission of the court.
3. Duties of an Advocate towards his Client
The advocate has some duties and responsibilities towards his client. The provisions relating to Advocate’s duty to the client is provided under Chapter – II of Part IV of the Bar Council of India Rules (Rules 11 to 33).
These are some of the duties of an advocate towards his client;
1. The advocate should listen to the difficulties of their clients in all manner.
2. The advocate should give some time to the clients and be polite with clients.
3. The advocate should not leave efforts from his side to win the case of his clients by all illegal means and merits.
4. The advocate should share all things relating to the case of his client.
5. The relationship between advocate and client comes from contractual obligations and the advocate should perform all the obligations agreed till the period of contract exists (till the case exists).
6. In some cases, the client shares confidential information of his life to the advocate, hence it is the duty of an advocate that such information should not be disclosed to anyone all his life.
4. Duties of an Advocate towards Opponent Advocate
1. The advocate should consider the opponent advocate as a good friend.
2. The advocate should not quarrel with the other advocate because the clients come and go but the advocates have adhered to the court and see each other in the court.
3. The advocate should make healthy competition with the opponent advocate. If the advocate fights with the opponent advocate then it will spoil his client and degrade the court.
4. The advocate should struggle for the welfare and good of their client that does not mean the advocate and opponent advocate are enemies.
5. The advocate should keep in mind that all advocates are equal before the court.
6. The advocate should not contact the opponent advocate, especially on the case before the court.
7. The advocate should not be stubborn on minor matters.
5. Duties of an Advocate towards Colleagues
All the members of the bar association are known as colleagues. The advocate has some important duties towards the colleagues. The provisions relating to duties of an advocate to the colleagues are provided under Section IV of Chapter II of Part VI of Bar Council of India Rules. Rules 36 to 39 are dealing with the Advocates duty to the Court.
1. The advocate could not appear and fight in the case on behalf of the same client where a memo is filed by the other advocate.
2. All advocates are officers to the court.
3. The primary aim of the advocates should be the welfare of the client.
4. All advocates are equal and must respect each other.
5. An advocate should not advertise himself utilizing information relating to the case or any other way.
6. The advocate has to respect all colleagues and should not criticize them.
7. The arrogant attitude of the advocate towards the colleagues affects his profession and bar bench relations.
6. Duty to Act in Dignified Manner
The advocate has to maintain his/her self-respect and the advocate has a right and duty to submit his grievance to the proper authorities whenever there is a proper ground for a serious complaint against a judicial officer like presiding officers, clerks, steno, pion, bailiffs, Nazar office etc. The advocate always acts in a dignified manner while presenting his case before the court.
7. An Advocate Should Communicate in Private
An advocate should not communicate in private to a judge with regard to any matter pending before the judge or any other judge. An advocate should not influence the decision of a court in any matter using illegal or improper means such as coercion, bribe etc.
Conclusion
Duties of an advocate are provided under Part VI of the Bar Council of India Rules. The advocate should follow all these duties and if any advocate violates these duties then he/she violates the principles of professional ethics. These duties are moral duties and every advocate should follow them.