PROFESSIONAL ETHICS (Accountancy for Lawyers and Bench-Bar Relationship)

Mr. Silla Ramsunder

Syllabus
Legal profession is noble profession. The nobility of the legal profession is maintained by the adherence and observance of a set of professional norms by those who adopt this profession. It is knows as legal ethics or the ethics of the legal profession. The fundamental of the legal ethics is to maintain the owner and dignity of the law profession, to secure a spirit of friendly cooperation between Bench and Bar in the promotion of highest standard of justice, to establish honorable and fair dealings of the counsel with his client, opponent and witness, to establish a spirit of brotherhood with bar. As contempt of court is a part of the syllabus, contempt of the court is a serious challenge to the majesty of law. Some times it is committed in ignorance that is condemner has no knowledge as to the meaning of contempt. At the same time a definitions of the expression contempt of court is of much utility, but there is clear and definite definition of this term. In common parlance it can be said that it is a act or omission which interferes with the administration of justice, disobedience to order of the court or breach of undertaking given to court, it will amount to contempt of court only when the disobedience or breach is willful. The Bar and Bench play important role in the administration of justice. The judges administer the law with the assistance of the lawyers. The lawyers are the officers of the court. They are expected to assist the court in the administration of justice. As the officers of the court the lawyers are required to maintain toward the court respectful attitude bearing in mind that the dignity of the judicial office is essential foe the survival of the society mutual respect is necessary for the maintenance o the cordial relations between the Bench and Bar. The judges play important role in the maintenance of rule of law which is essential for the existence of the orderly society.

Module I: 1.1.

Background to Legal Profession in India

Legal Profession before British Period i .Legal Profession in Ancient India. ii .Position of legal profession in Mulim India.

8 Periods.

1.2.

Legal Profession during British regime. a. Legal Profession under Mayors Court and Supreme Court of Judicature b. Legal profession under Companys Court c. Legal Profession under Indian High Courts Act, 1861 d. Legal profession under Legal Practitioners Act,1879 e. Indian Bar Councils Act, 1926

1.3.

Legal Profession after Independence

Legal Profession under All India Bar Committee, 1951 Legal Profession under the Advocates Act, 1961

Module II: 2.1. 2.2.

Admission, Enrolment & Rights of Advocates

Admission and Enrolment of Advocates Persons who may be admitted as Advocates on a State Roll a. b. c. Disposal of Application for Admission as an Advocate Removal of names from Roll of State Bar Council Special Provision for Enrolment of certain Supreme Court Advocates

2.3. 2.4. 2.5. 2.6.

Disputes regarding Seniority of Advocates Certificate of Enrolment of Advocate Right of Pre- Audience Rights of Advocates

Module III:

Establishment of Bar Councils

3.1.

State Bar Councils Functions and Powers of State Bar Councils Functions of State Bar Council Powers of the State Bar Council Bar Council of India

3.2.

3.3.

3.4.

3.5.

Module IV: 4.1. 4.2.

Professional Ethics of Lawyers

Meaning,need and importance of Professional Ethics Standards of Professional Conduct and Etiquette a. Duty to the Court b. Duty to the Client c. Duty to the Opponent d. Duty to Colleagues e. Residual Duties i.. Lawyers duty to render legal Aid. ii. Soliciting and Advertising.

Module V: 7.1. 7.2. 7.3. 7.4. 7.5. 7.6. 7.7. Accounting

Accountancy for Lawyers

Imperative of Maintenance of Account by An Advocate Accountship- explained Accounting System Accounts and Recording Mechanism Rules for Recording Mechanism Books of Accounts a. b. c. d. e. Receipt and Payment account Ledger Income and Expenditure account Exercises Balance Sheet Special Notes

Module VI:

Punishment for Professional and other Misconducts

5.1.

Meaning and scope of Professional and other Misconducts Power of State Bar Council to Punish for Professional or Other Misconduct Powers of Disciplinary Committee of Bar Council Powers of the Disciplinary Committee of Bar Council of India Remedies to the Advocate against Order of Punishment Review of orders by Disciplinary Committee

5.2.

5.3.

5.4.

5.5.

5.6.

5.7. 5.8.

Appellate provisions against the Orders of Disciplinary Committee of State Bar Council Provisions for Appeal to the Supreme Court

Module VII: 6.1. 6.2. 6.3. 6.4. 6.5. 6.6. 6.7. 6.8.

Law of Contempt of Court

12

Background to Law of Contempt, Its Object & Constitutional Validity Background to Law of Contempt Object of the Law of Contempt Constitutional Validity of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 Concept and Categories of Contempt of Court Legal Basis and Extent of Contempt Jurisdiction Contempt by Lawyers, Judges, State and Corp orate Bodies Cognizance, Procedure, Defences & Punishment including Remedies against Punishment for Contempt of Court

Module VIII: 8.1. 8.2. 8.3. 8.4.

Bench- Bar RelationshipGeneral Study Duties of Judges towards the Advocates Duty of the Bar towards the Bench Crack in Bench Bar Relations

Decisional law on Professional Ethics.. 1. P.D Gupta Vs Ram Murty and Another , A.I.R 1998 S.C 283. 2. Dr. Hanilal L. Chulani Vs Bar Council of Maharastra and Goa, (1996)3 S.C.C 342. 3 Hkmat Ali Khan Vs Ishyar Prasad Arya and Others, (1997) 3 S.C.C 131. 4. U.P Sales Tax Service Association Vs Taxation Bar Association, Agra, A.I.R, 1996 S.C 28. 5. Ex. Capt. Harish Uppal Vs Union of India A.I.R, 2003, S.C 739. 6. Pritam Pal Vs. H.C of Madhya Pradesh, Jabalpur Through Registrar, A.I.R, 1992 S.C 904. 7. Dr. D.C Saxena Vs Honble The Chief Justice of India, A.I.R 1996 S.C 2481. 8. In Re: Vinay Chandra Mishra ,A.I.R, 1995 S.C 2348. 9. Tarak Singh Vs Jyoti Basu, (2005) 1 S.C.C 201 10 Sardul SinghVs Pritam Singh, (1999) 3 S.C.C, 522.

11. Supreme Court Bar Association Vs.Union of India., (1998) 4 S.C.C 409. 12 L.C. Goyal Vs Suresh Joshi,A.I.R 1999 S.C 2222. 13 Prahalad Saran Gupta Vs. Bar Council of India, (1997) 3 S.C.C 585. 14 In Re : Ajay Kumar Pandey,A.I.R 1997 S.C 260. 15. In Re :Mr. Nandlal Balwani etc (Suo Motu Contempt Case, (1999) 1 SCALE 645. 16 C. Ravichandran Iyer Vs.Justice A.M.Bhattacharjee and other (1995) 5 S.C.C 457. 17. M.B Sanghi Advocate V High Court of Punjab and Haryana and Others, A.I.R S.C 1834. 18. D.S Dalal Vs. State Bank of India,A.I.R 1993,S.C1608., 19. Mangilal Vs. State of M.P, (1994) 4 S.C.C 564.

Suggested Readings. 1. 2. 3. , 4. 5. . 6. 7. Allahabad. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Advocates Act 1961 Contempt of Court Act, 1971 Bar Council of India Act, 1965 Supreme Court Rules, 1966 Bar Council of India Rules, 1995 International Code of Ethics, 1995 (Oslo Resolution as amended upto date) Ethics. By- S.P.Gupta Published By- Central Law Agency By- J.P.S. Sirohi Published By- Allahabad Law agency By- Prof.. Anirudh Prasad ,Principles of the Ethics of Legal Profession In India, Published By- University Book House Pvt. Ltd By- Myneni Srinivesa Rao Published By- Asia Law House K.Gururajachari:Advocacy and Professional Ethics, Wadhwa and Company, Allahabad. C.L Anand:General Principles of Legal Ethics, Law Book Company, Alahabad. B.K Goswami:Legal Profession and its Ethics, Gogia Law Publication, In,

11. Bar Council of India Trust (Publication ) Selected Judgments on Professional

Note- The topics and cases given above are not exhaustive. The teacher shall be at liberty to
add new topics/cases.