Singh, 47

Morality and Legal Field

Submitted to Submitted by
Mrs. Alka Mehta Shubham Singh
Faculty of Literature B.A.LL.B (Hons.)
Section B
Roll No.:

Date of submission: 31.08.2917

Hidayatullah National Law University, Raipur,

Chhattisgarh
 Singh, 47

Declaration

I hereby declare that this project work titled Morality and Legal Field is my own work and

represents my own ideas, and where others ideas or words have been included, I have

adequately cited and referenced the original sources. I also declare that I have adhered to all

principles of academic honesty and integrity and have not misrepresented or fabricated or

falsified any idea/data/fact/source in my submission.

Shubham Singh
Batch of 2022
Section B
Roll NO.:
 Singh, 47

Abstract

This project explores some of the chief ways in which morality and legal field are connected, and

some of the many respects in which they remain distinct. The project is divided into seven

chapters. The first two chapters deal with understanding Morality and Legal Field. The chapters

discuses in brief how these terms are studies them separately. Chapter three discusses the

morality of Legal Profession with an emphasis on professional ethics. It talks about how

professional ethics play a major role in the field of law. The chapter four thoroughly discusses

the Lawyers of high morale in India. It talks about how lawyers such as Gandhi have always kept

their legal ethics on high priority. It also highlights the importance of possessing legal ethics.

The researcher has used Professional Ethics and Legal Ethics, and Morality and Ethics

interchangeably. Although, there is a slight difference in their literal meaning but altogether they

are synonymous. Chapter five answers the most fundamental questions, why do we need legal

ethis or morality in the legal field. It emphasises the functions of moral principles within the law

that are consistent with all the essential characteristics of any legal system. The next chapter,

discusses briefly about the rules of bar council of India for morality in legal ethics. And finally,

the seventh chapter deals with the challenges that the field of law faces with morality. Law is not

inherently moral either in its effects or in its motivational underpinnings even though the

existence of a legal system in any sizeable society is indispensable for the realization of

fundamental moral values.

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Introduction

Does professional lawyering demand that a lawyer act morally? The legal profession's answer to

this question remains ambivalent. Some lawyers treat morality as a necessary evil, endured as a

course in law school but quickly put aside in the daily practice of law. Other lawyers

conveniently invoke ethics to buttress their image and prove that lawyers are more than "hired

guns." Morality should neither exist as an incidental adjunct to the curriculum nor as mere

rhetoric used to improve a lawyer's image. Rather, morality should function as the core of a

lawyer's practice. Without morality, true professionalism and good lawyering escape us. This

project will sketch the recent growth of the field of professional ethics and describe the general

role of ethics in professional life. Then it will identify four essential contributions ethics makes

to lawyering. The common view that a good lawyer must first be a good person oversimplifies

the issue. This project will examine various hypothetical situations which show that

professionals need to be more than technicians. This project will contend that lawyers are

frequently hired guns, lawyers must integrate ethics into their practice and thereby become

professionals in the true sense. They must exercise their moral conscience as well as their

technical skills. This integration and exercise demands knowledge gained through a continued

study of professional ethicspressured to act amorally if not immorally. To combat these pressures

and become more than.

 Singh, 47

Understanding Morality

Morality is the differentiation of intentions, decisions and actions between those that are

distinguished as proper and those that are improper. Morality can be a body of standards or

principles derived from a code of conduct from a particular philosophy, religion or culture, or it

can derive from a standard that a person believes should be universal. Morality may also be

specifically synonymous with "goodness" or "rightness".1

Moral philosophy includes moral ontology, or the origin of morals, as well as moral

epistemology, or knowledge of morals. Different systems of expressing morality have been

proposed, including deontological ethical systems which adhere to a set of established rules,

and normative ethical systems which consider the merits of actions themselves. An example of

normative ethical philosophy is the Golden Rule, which states that: "One should treat others as

one would like others to treat oneself."

Immorality is the active opposition to morality (i.e. opposition to that which is good or right),

while amorality is variously defined as an unawareness of, indifference toward, or disbelief in

any set of moral standards or principles.

In its descriptive sense, "morality" refers to personal or cultural values, codes of conduct or

social mores from a society that provides these codes of conduct in which it applies and is

accepted by an individual. It does not connote objective claims of right or wrong, but only refers

to that which is considered right or wrong. Descriptive ethics is the branch of philosophy which

studies morality in this sense.

1
"Amorality". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2010-06-18. "having no moral standards, restraints, or principles; unaware
of or indifferent to questions of right or wrong"
 Singh, 47

In its normative sense, "morality" refers to whatever (if anything) is actually right or wrong,

which may be independent of the values or mores held by any particular peoples or

cultures. Normative ethics is the branch of philosophy which studies morality in this sense.
 Singh, 47

Understanding the Legal Field

The Lawyers play important role in the maintenance of peace and order in the society. Learned

C.L. Anand has rightly stated that the advocates share with the judges the responsibility for

maintaining order in the community. They do not promote stripes but settle them. They stand for

legal order which is one of the noblest functions in the society. The order which the advocates

seek is not of grave but based on justice. It is the foremost function of the advocates to fulfill the

desire of their clients by providing them Justice. It is the desire of every human on the earth. The

Lawyers also play a very important role in law reform also. By reason of the experience gained

in daily application and interpretation of laws, lawyers are best aware of the imperfection, of the

legal system and constitute the most competent class of men to advise on law reform and to

lawyers. Thus, it can be said that the legal profession is a profession of great honour. This is

made for promote popular enthusiasm and support for it. The most difficult part of the process of

legislation is drafting of its provisions and no one is better fitted to give guidance on this than the

public welfare, for public good.2 This is not for making money but to provide Justice to the right

person. An advocate is an officer of the Court and is required to maintain towards the Court a

respectful attitude bearing in mind that the dignity of the judicial office. The Supreme Court has

rightly observed that the legal profession is a partner with the judiciary in the administration of

justice.

2
https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/connections-between-law-and-morality-philosophy-essay.php
 Singh, 47

Morality of Legal Profession Professional Ethics

A legal practitioner is under triple obligation, an obligation to his clients to be faithful to them till

the last, an obligation to the profession not to besmirch its name by anything done by him, and an

obligation to the court to be and to remain a dependable part of the machinery through which

justice is administered. The scope of legal ethics is beyond the treatise of evidence or witnesses

to be presented before the court. In examining these witnesses, the advocate should not forget

that he is not mere the counsel of the client but also the officer of the court. In this way, there are

some of the duties thereinafter which the advocate should follow, like, professional courtesy, co-

operation, equal consideration to all members of the profession, encourage junior brethren,

should stand up for its dignity and privileges whenever there is occasion for it, he should expose

corrupt or dishonest conduct in the profession.

In the words of Chief Justice Marshall:

the fundamental aim of Legal Ethics is to maintain the honour and dignity of the Law

Profession, to secure a spirit of friendly co-operation between the Bench and the Bar in

the promotion of highest standards of justice, to establish honourable and fair dealings of

the counsel with his client opponent and witnesses; to establish a spirit of brotherhood in

the Bar itself ; and to secure that lawyers discharge their responsibilities to the

community generally3.

Professional Ethics may be defined as a code of conduct written or unwritten for regulating the

behavior of a practicing lawyer towards himself, his client, his adversary in law and towards the

court. Thus, ethics of legal profession means the body of rules and practice which determine the

3
Quoted in C.L. Anand, General Principles of Legal Ethics , p. 63.
 Singh, 47

professional conduct of the members of a bar. When the person joins the legal profession and

starts practicing, his relation with men in general is 9 governed by general rules of law but his

conduct as advocate is governed by the especial rules of profession ethics of the Bar. The main

object of the ethics of the legal profession is to maintain the dignity of the legal profession and

the friendly relation between the Bench and the Bar.

Professional Ethics is also known as legal ethics. Legal Ethics is that branch of moral science

which deals with the duties which a member of the legal profession owes to the public, the

Court, to his professional brethren and to his clients. It is a study of the meaning and application

of judgments of Good, bad, right, wrong, etc. and every evaluation of law involves an ethical

Judgment. The description of Legal Ethics already clarifies that legal ethics is one of the branch

of moral science. Etymological origin of the words moral and ethics appear to be same.

The word moral comes from Latin Word mos (plural mores) meaning thereby Custom or way

of life. The related term Ethics is derived from the Greek word ethos meaning Custom or

Character. Thus both the words moral and ethics are mostly synonymous and refer to a type of

behavior practices by a group which tends to become customary. But there is a slight difference

in the two that moral or morality ordinarily refers to the conduct itself, while ethics or ethical

suggests the study of moral conduct or the system of code which is to be followed.

The Oxford Companion to Law explains the professional ethics as the standards of right and

honourable conducts which should be observed by members of learned professions in their

dealings one with another and in protecting the interests and handling the affairs of their

clients.4

4
http://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/oi/authority.20110803100058204
 Singh, 47

The Lawyers of High Moral Value

The Bar is a public institution and is under legal obligation to impart wholehearted cooperation

for the development of law. History has said with grace and appreciation that how the eminent

lawyers after independence started making law a legal science. When we talk about lawyers in

pre-independence era, last part of 18th century the eminent lawyers helped in the development of

enacted laws as well as customary laws. These lawyers were the one who had their morals and

worked on the principle of ethics. The lawyers who were eminent in their own field got

intrinsically involved in freedom struggle where their reasoning, rationality and logical factors

helped them to solve many acute problems. Many of them played very important role in the

formation and shaping of our constitution which eventually turned out to be one of the best

constitutions of the world. One of the great examples of such personality is the Father of the

Nation, Gandhiji, who was a lawyer. He started his practice in India and went to South Africa. It

is noteworthy to state that Gandhiji was an excellent draftsman and his representations to the

authorities used to be very logical, straight, unambiguous, and succinct and based on 6 natural

and ethical legal paradigms. He believed in truth while practicing as lawyer and acted as a

conciliator. In his autobiography My Experiments With Truth he has narrated how he required

a prosperous businessman to confess his guilt and after the Court sentenced him, to keep

judgment in a frame for posterity to see and realize.

Sir Alladi Krishna Swami Aiyer is another example, a lawyer who was also a freedom fighter.

He was the acknowledged leader of the Madras Bar. After Independence he became a member of

drafting committee of the Indian Constitution.

 Singh, 47

Dr. B.R. Ambedkar started practice at Bombay in 1924 and at the same time started his career

as a social worker, writer, politician and socialist. His image as a jurist gained widespread

recognition and emerged as the leader of depressed class. He was the Chairman of the Drafting

Committee which framed the Constitution of India. Gandhiji laid emphasis on moral fabric of the

society, preached religious pluralism, anticipated ecological crisis of our time, accentuated on

disciplined life, laid stress on personal efforts to rise in life and postulated prescriptions for

constructive work. While talking about this brand of lawyers it is worth noting that Bhulabhai

Desai had played a main role in the INA trial where his main contention was that a member of

the subject country has a right to wage war for securing the freedom. Another great lawyer in the

post independent era is Viswanath Shastri. At one point of the time he was the leading

practitioner in the Supreme Court. He was an authority in taxation law and remembered Privy

Council Judgments on his finger tips. He was a simple men and in fact in his office there was no

chair and fan. Another illustrious lawyer who became a household name in India is Nani

Palkhiwala. He had started without any ladder but his incomparable energy, phenomenal

brilliance, prodigious memory, enormous ability to work hard, profound analytical skill and

unsurpassable humility took him to great heights.

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Need for Morality in Legal Field

The American Bar Association Committee has well explained the need of the code of legal

ethics. It is observed that the legal profession is necessarily the keystone of the arch of

Government. If it is weakened, and allowed to be a subject of the corroding and demoralising

influence of those, who are controlled by craft, greed or gain or other unworthy motive, sooner

or later the arch must fall. The future of the country depends upon the maintenance of the shrine

of the justice, pure and unrolled by the advocates. It cannot be so maintained, unless the conduct

and motives of the members of the legal profession are what they object to be. Therefore, it

becomes the plain and simple duty of the lawyers to use their influence in every legitimate way

to help and make the Bar what it is ought to be. The committee has further observed that

members of Bar, like Judges, are officers of the court and like judges, they should hold office

only during good behavior and this good behavior should be defined and measured by ethical

standards, however high, as necessary to keep the administration of justice, pure and unsullied.

Such standard may be crystallized into a written code of professional ethics and the lawyer

failing to conform thereto, should not be permitted to practise or retain membership in the

particular organisation.
 Singh, 47

Bar Council of India Rules on Morality and Legal Ethics

The Advocates Act, 19615 empowers the Bar Council of India to frame certain rules. Section 49

(1) (c) of the Act grants general power to The Bar Council of India to make rules relating to the

standards of professional conduct and etiquette to be observed by advocates. The rules formed by

Bar Council of India is given in Chapter II of Part IV of the Bar Council of India Rules tells the

duty of an Advocate to the Court, to the client, to opponent, to colleagues etc. Preamble of Part

IV, Chapter II reads and makes the following points clear.

1. An advocate shall, at all times, comport himself in a manner befitting his status as an officer of

the court, a privileged member of the community and a gentleman;

2. He should bear in mind that what may be lawful and moral for a person who is not a member

of Bar, or for a member of the Bar in his non- professional capacity may still be improper for an

Advocate; 12 3. Without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing obligation, an Advocate

shall fearlessly uphold the interests of his client, and in his conduct conform to the rules

hereinafter mentioned both in letter and in spirit.

4. The rules hereinafter mentioned contain canons of conduct and etiquette adopted as general

guides; yet the specific mention there of shall not be construed as a denial of existence of other

equally imperative though not specifically mentioned. Section 1 (of chapter II of Part IV of the

Bar Council of India Rules) frames code of conduct and etiquette of Advocates and prescribes

certain duties of an Advocate of the Court.

5
Advocates Act 1961; an act passed by the Indian Parliament which provides for laws relating to legal practitioners
in India and to provide for the constitution of the Bar Council of India (BCI) and state bar councils
 Singh, 47

Challenges to Morality in the Legal Field

The legal literature on the professional responsibilities of lawyers attempts to establish a detailed

structure of professional ethics for lawyers. One of the most famous (or infamous) challenging

scholars is Monroe Freedman. Freedman argued that a lawyer must put his client on the stand

knowing that the client intends to commit perjury. Ordinary moral standards dictate that it is

wrong to lie and to help others lie. Yet Freedman's lawyer would not only be allowed to, but

would be required to facilitate his client's lying.' Similarly, it is ordinarily wrong to prevent

others from discovering the truth.6 The duty of confidentiality, however, may forbid disclosure in

certain situations. In one celebrated case, People v. Beige7, defendant in a murder prosecution

told his lawyers the location of the bodies of two others whom he had killed in an unrelated case.

The lawyers visited the location where the bodies had been hidden and confirmed the client's

story. Nevertheless, it was not until six months later, following the client's confession to those

crimes, that they informed law enforcement officials of their knowledge concerning the bodies

because of the duty of confidentiality, the lawyers' actions have been defended by writers and the

lawyers were exonerated by the New York State Bar. As a second case, consider the general

moral principle that it is wrong to harm innocent people. But if a defense attorney can discredit a

truthful rape victim's testimony, by taking advantage of the fact that she is emotionally

distraught, the Model Code of Professional Responsibility would permit and even require a

lawyer to do so.47 These examples can be multiplied, qualified and questioned. They do point

out, however, that the legal profession itself defends actions ordinarily judged wrong. Legal
6
Monroe Freedman, THE IMPORTANCE OF ETHICS AND THE APPLICATION OF ETHICAL PRINCIPLES TO
THE LEGAL PROFESSION, Journal Of South Pacific Law
7
24 CAL.4TH 387
 Singh, 47

scholars continue to challenge the principle that one must be a good person - in the ordinary

moral sense - in order to be a good lawyer. Lest the implications be misunderstood, it is not

being argued here that it is morally permissible for a lawyer to do anything whatsoever. We

would not condone a lawyer for killing on behalf of a client, or for committing fraud to help a

client avoid repayment of a debt. Moreover, if lawyers charged excessive fees, filed false

documents, betrayed confidences indiscriminately or lied to each other regularly, the practice of

law would be impossible. Accordingly, there are two constraints on what lawyers can do. The

first is what the criminal law prohibits: a lawyer is not morally justified in violating the criminal

law in zealous pursuit of a client's interest. The second is what the legal practice as a business

requires: a lawyer cannot do what, if generally done, would undermine the practice of law as a

business Within these constraints,however, lawyers are enjoined to do what would otherwise be

immoral.

Indias largest best known

districts are Sonagachi in Kolkata, Reshampura in Gwalior, Kamathipura, Sonapur in Mumbaian

d G. B. Road in New Delhi, that host thousands of sex workers.Earlier, there were centers such

as Maduovwedih in Varanasi, Meerganj in Allahabad among many.

When I read this data, I was in a utter shock by the irony these three cities i.e. Allahabad ,

Kolkata and Varanasi draw with them when we see that a major faction of sex workers resides in

the most holiest cities we can ever imagine. In the same city where people go to pray and offer

their offerings to various deities, women and children are subjected to such cruel activities. One

can find plethora of priests preaching different kinds of shlokas, people involved in Durga pooja

or government taking initiative to clean the river Ganga, but not a single individual tries to free
 Singh, 47

these people from the shackles of the horrifying episodes that they are subjected to night after

night.

There have been numerous incidents, where sex workers couldnt get the appropriate help or

didnt even try to approach the authorities because every other person is presupposed to judge

them on the basis of what, she must have not even consented to do.

Instead of talking about that whether these practices should be legalized or not, or should they be

criminalized or not, we need to give them the sheer rights that every human enjoys, because they

also took birth in the same manner as you and I did. We need to acknowledge the right to dignity

that is enshrined in our honorable constitution and about which every judge, every politician and

every citizen boasts. These sex workers are a part of an unorganized sector and not a dormant

sector, to which we dont even attach any recognition, these horrible chain of events need to be

stopped at the very moment by our elected government authorities and should strictly work in a

manner where these people can be ensured about a respectable life ahead.

Its high time that these kids need to be stop from witnessing the pathetic nights , and rather

should be directed to the sunshine of dignity and self respect which had to be of prime

importance in their lives as well. They have already suffered a lot and now need not to be

witness to some more.

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Conclusion

Morality and Legal Field or Law is too vague to understand. It must be added here that the

notions of law and justice can't be captured and presented before us within a few sentences.

These notions are too vast that even words are not sufficient to define them. Many jurists from

the ancient Greek period to the modern and even the post-modern era have attempted

numerously to define these concepts, but have failed. One of the reasons may be that the roots of

these concepts lie somewhere within the human psyche, which is extremely random and

versatile.

There can never a hard jacket or a universal formula which could determine that should law be

used to enforce morality. It can only be concluded that the level of enforcement of moral

standards depends upon case to case.

In the cases where morality shadows a good and beneficial effect on the society, there if

required, law could be used to enforce that positive morality. For example, in the case of

International Humanitarian Laws, certain moral standards are also recognized as a part of law or

in another illustration that, all religious and moral norms say not to kill or not to steel, and this

moral is enforced through law.

On the other hand, that morality which produces any harmful effect in any form in the society,

there law should never be used to enforce such morality. For example, the celebration of

Valentine's Day in Indian society is considered as amoral. But such morals must never get the

institutional shape of law.

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References

Books

Where Law and Morality Meet, Matthew H. Kramer

The Concept of Law, H. L. A. Hart

Cases

24 CAL.4TH 387

Internet Sources

http://survivinglaw.blogspot.in/2014/11/law-and-morality-sample-

essay.html?q=idea+of+law

https://www.lawteacher.net/free-law-essays/medical-law/relationship-between-

morality-and-the-law-medical-law-essay.php

http://www.legalserviceindia.com/articles/lmor.htm

https://www.ukessays.com/essays/philosophy/connections-between-law-and-

morality-philosophy-essay.php