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Jaya Vats, Reserach Paper
Jaya Vats, Reserach Paper
ON
LEGAL ETHICS
SUBMITTED TO:
(ASSISTANT PROFESSOR)
SUBMITTED BY
JAYA VATS
ROLL NO.-
18FLICDDN01049
BATCH (2018-2023)
ICFAI UNIVERSITY
DEHRADUN
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DECLARATION
I, Jaya Vats, student of BBALLB(HONS.), hereby declare that the project work entitled
“LEGAL ETHICS” submitted to the ICFAI Law School, ICFAI University, Dehradun is a
record of an original work done by me under the guidance of Mr. Vishal Bera, teacher in
subject, ICFAI Law School, ICFAI University, Dehradun.
Batch. 2018-2023
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CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project report entitled “LEGAL ETHICS” submitted by jaya vats in
partial fulfilment of the requirement for the award of degree of “Batch” to ICFAI Law
School, ICFAI University, Dehradun is a record of the candidate’s own work carried out by
him under my supervision. The matter embodied in this project is original and has not been
submitted for the award of any other degree.
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would specially like to thank my guide, mentor, Mr. Vishal Bera without whose constant support
and guidance this project would have been a distant reality.
This work is an outcome of an unparalleled infrastructural support that I have received from ICFAI
Law School, ICFAI University, Dehradun.
I owe my deepest gratitude to the library staff of the college.
It would never have been possible to complete this study without an untiring support from my
family, specially my parents.
This study bears testimony to the active encouragement and guidance of a host of friends and well-
wishers.
Batch 2018-2023
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TABLE OF CONTENT
Chapter – I: Introduction……………………………………
1.1 Abstract…………………………………………
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1.INTRODUCTION
1.1 Abstract
If we ask a lawyer what “professionalism” means and we are likely to hear that
professionalism means “putting our client first or acting as an officer of the court.” Only
rarely will a lawyer say that professionalism means “putting justice first.” Never, I think
will a lawyer even suggest that professionalism means putting your profession first. My
entire paper is basically limited to this scenario what all ought to be as Legal
professional about the professional ethics. The values and the standards associated with
the professional ethics pass the message of ethical accountability and responsibility. It is
not merely a guideline for the professional and the expected behaviour associated with the
profession but it is moral values and inner standards which everyone ought to be followed
in respect of field. Professional ethics are standards or codes of conduct set by people for
the people in relation of a specific profession. Democracy has good platform for the
development of the professional ethics with the full realization without any intervention.
A code of ethics is an idea and also parts of the expectations of those involved in many
different types of professions and have tag of professional. No one in the profession want
but if it does occur by someone in their field the perpetrator have to bear the
By setting out expected behaviours in the form of professional ethics, professionals work
together to try to uphold a good reputation. Professional ethics are commonly known
asethical business practices. Respect and honesty are the two main components of
professional ethics. All professionals are expected to represent a respective profession
ethically as they are a part of it.
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1.2 Objectives of Study
The very ground reasons of the research is already discussed in the preface and the
introductive chapter previously. Based on such grounds this study carries the following
objectives.
3) To Analyze the Indian law of professional ethics of the lawyers and judges.
This study has adopted basically the doctrinal method of the research. The secondary data
has been applied and incorporated from the library, books, articles and some other
previous researches. Those principles, ideas and data are analyzed on the legal ground
with reference to the Nepalese scenario. The researcher has given his analysis on the
This research paper has great significance within its coverage and subject matters. The
present scenario of the legal ethics and professionalism is analyzed. It will be very
helpful for not only the upcoming law students but also become a reference for the
lawyers, judges, and other law practitioners to improve the implementation of the
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1.5 Limitations of Study
A single research paper may not cover all the necessary subjects in whole. This paper is
basically limited to the introduction of the law and ethics, legal profession and legal
ethics. It covers some international and national legal instruments to analyze the
problems. Besides that some national history is briefly introduced and analysis has been
done to find out the differences and progress. In other hand, this study only covers the
professional ethics and its law of the lawyers and judges of the India.
Since this is one of the emerging issue and having great role in the administration of the
justice, there are very few researches in this area. Although there are some researches
being done by the law students but are not published. Despite that, we can find lots of
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Chapter – II: Law and Ethics
The law is not strictly defined in this paper but it is tried to give a basic concept of the
law in respect to its nature. This is to distinguish the law with the ethics in the following
Chapters. Law is some set of rules which are formulated and created by the state for the
The law is the systematic set of universally accepted rules and regulation created by
international.
The law is described as the set of rules and regulation, created by the government in order
to govern the whole society. The law is universally accepted, recognized and enforced. It
is created with the purpose of maintaining social order, peace, justice in the society and to
provide protection to the general public and safeguard their interest. It is made after
Law is made by the judicial system of the country. Every person in the country is bound
to follow the law. It clearly defines what a person must or must not do. So, in case of the
Ever since we were kids and became aware of our surroundings, our parents and elders
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have instilled in us a fundamental awareness of what is right and wrong. It is actually an
inherent trait of all humans and grows from our desire to get along well with each other
in order to live a harmonious life. To achieve this goal we understand that we must do to
other people what we expect them to do to us in return. For this, we try very hard to do
what we feel and see as the right things to do in certain situations. This is the foundation
of ethics. They are rules of conduct that shows how our society expects us to behave and
By ethics, we mean that the branch of moral philosophy that guides people about what is
character. The principles help us in making decisions regarding, what is right or wrong. It
informs us about how to act in a particular situation and make judgments to make better
choices for ourselves. Ethics are the code of conduct agreed and adopted by the people. It
sets a standard of how a person should live and interact with other people.
The principle is that ethical questions are to be resolved in terms of legal doctrine and
that they should be resolved by lawyers collectively in their occupational capacities and
political institutions.
It is already dealt that what basically the law and ethics are. These two concepts are
different but has very interconnection. Without ethical substance law has no enforcing
power itself and without law ethical standards will have no clear boundary, which will be
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Ethics is such moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior. Sometime
these synonyms are given to understand the ethics although they can also be
differentiated in other grounds. Such terms are: moral code, morals, morality, values, rights
and wrongs principles, ideals, standards (of behavior), value system, virtues, dictates of
conscience. Etc.
Based on society’s ethics, laws are created and enforced by governments to mediate in
our relationships with each other. Laws are made by governments in order to protect its
citizens. The judiciary, legislature, and public officials are the three main bodies in a
government that are assigned to the task of the creation of laws. Laws have to be
approved and written by these three branches of government before they are implemented
and enforced by the police and the military, with the help of the legal system consisting
of lawyers and other government servants. While laws carry with them a punishment for
violations, ethics does not. In ethics everything depends on the person’s conscience and
self worth. Â Driving carefully and within the speed limit because you don’t want to hurt
someone is ethical, but if you drive slowly because you see a police car behind you, this
suggests your fear of breaking the law and being punished for it.
Ethics comes from within a person’s moral sense and desire to preserve his self respect.
It is not as strict as laws. Laws are codifications of certain ethical values meant to help
regulate society, and punishments for breaking them can be harsh and sometimes even
The major differences between law and ethics are mentioned below:
1. The law is defined as the systematic body of rules that governs the whole society
and the actions of its individual members. Ethics means the science of a standard
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human conduct.
2. The law consists of a set of rules and regulations, whereas Ethics comprises of
guidelines and principles that inform people about how to live or how to behave
in a particular situation.
3. The law is created by the Government, which may be local, regional, national or
5. The breach of law may result in punishment or penalty, or both which is not in the
Law and ethics are different in a manner that what a person must do and what a person
should do. The former is universally accepted while the latter is ideal human conduct,
agreed upon by most of the people. Although, both the law and ethics are made in
alignment so that they do not contradict each other. Both go side by side, as they provide
how to act in a particular manner. Every person is equal in the eyes of law and ethics, i.e.
nobody is superior or inferior. Further, these two allows a person to freely think and
choose.
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Chapter – III: Legal Ethics and Legal Professionalism
The main object of ethics of the legal profession is to maintain the dignity of the legal
profession and the friendly relation between bar and bench. Chief Justice Marshall has
observed “The fundamental aim of legal ethics is to maintain the honour and dignity of the
law
profession, to secure a spirit of friendly cooperation between the bar and bench in the
promotion of high standards of justice, to establish honourable and fair dealings of the
council with his/her 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
generally.”
This principle states that ethical questions are to be resolved in terms of legal doctrine
and that they should be resolved by lawyers collectively in their occupational capacities
and not by lawyers individually in terms of personal or social norms or by board based
political institutions.
To understand the term legal ethics and professionalism, the explanation of those terms
felt necessary here. Lawyer and judges are the sole actors of every state to establish the
rule of law. Justice can only be imagined where the legal system and practice is best.
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Unless and otherwise a legal system is stronger no people can enjoy their life liberty and
property in a country. In this ground the ethics to guide those professional is called the
professional ethics.
In modern democratic societies based on the rule of law, lawyers play a paramount role in
the administration of justice and in safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms.
clients, officers of the legal system, and public citizens having special responsibilities for
the quality of justice. Virtually all ethical problems faced by lawyers arise from potential
conflicts between these three responsibilities. Maintaining and observing clear ethical
standards is a duty that lawyers owe not only to their clients, but also to the
When the terms Law, Ethics and their relation are already described above, Now we can
easily understand the term legal ethics. This is just by separating from the ethics of the
other discipline. The ethics applied in the law and concerned with the legal professionals
are legal ethics. Legal professionalism is simply the profession in law. Let’s say legal
practicing as lawyer, Serving as the Judge, Working in some governmental office of legal
field like Attorney general, Government Lawyer, Police prosecutor etc. Here for the
The terms legal ethics, professional responsibility, and professional legal ethics are used
interchangeably to indicate standards and rules regulating the conduct of lawyers faced
with conflicting moral and legal responsibilities. Such standards and rules are embodied
in the written laws, as well as in the customs, professional rules and judicial decisions of
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a country. The creation of codes of ethics which incorporate such standards not only
provides the necessary guidance to lawyers confronted by multiple, competing duties, but
also contributes to fostering the client’s and the public’s trust in the legal profession.1
A layer as a social engineer has the great role to protect the people’s life, liberty, and
property. Lawyers are the justice fighter of the society. A single mistake and minor
negligence can cause the great loss to a person. That may also destroy the whole social
life of a person. So that, a lawyer must be very sensitive of his act. To control some of the
unethical behaviors and to ensure the good morality; the Nepal Bar council has framed
the rules regarding the Code of conduct of the Legal Practitioners. Specially the lawyers
are referred as the legal practitioners by the Nepal Bar Council Act and the Rule framed
“Lawyers are the justice fighter whereas the Judges are the Justice giver.” Having the
honorable position and a statute of justices in hand, the judges have to be very high
morally guided and bounded by the judicial mind. Judges are also the same human beings
as we are. But they have very special and distinctive role and authorities than others.
Judges of the country are, for the first time, getting a code of conduct of international
standard amidst realization that the existing code is obsolete. The nine-page code of
conduct obtained by the Post has eight main heads detailing what judges should and
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should not do to uphold judicial independence, impartiality and people’s faith in the
judiciary. It says that judges should not come into “inappropriate” contact with members of
the executive and legislature.
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ANALYSIS
Section 49 (1)(c) of the Advocate Act ,1961, empowers the Bar Council of India to
make rules so as to prescribe the standards of professional conduct and etiquette to
be observed by the Advocate. In the exercise of the rule-making power under section
49(1)(c) of the Advocate Act ,1961, the bar council of India has made several rules
so as to prescribe the standards of professional conduct and etiquette. Chapter II of
part VI of the rules framed by the BCI deals with the standards of professional
conduct and etiquette.
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Chapter –IV: Conclusion and Suggestions
Lawyers have played a prominent part, not only in the freedom struggle, but in earlier
days also, in shaping the Nepalese history. The legal profession has been aptly
India as follows.33” The legal profession in solemn and serious occupation. It is a noble
calling and all those who belong to it are its honorable members. Although the entry to
the profession can be had by acquiring merely the qualification of technical competence,
conduct both in and outside the court. The legal profession is different from other
professions in that what the lawyers do. After not only an individual but the
member of the intelligentsia of the society and as responsible citizen the lawyer has to
conduct himself as a model for others both in his professional and in his private and
public life. The society has a right to expect of him such ideal behavior”
The profession of law is called a noble profession. It does not remain noble merely by
noble profession. Its nobility has to be preserved, protected and promoted. An institution
cannot survive on its name or on its past glory alone. The glory and greatness of an
institution depends on its continued and meaningful performance with grace and dignity.
The profession of law seeing noble and an honorable one, it has to continue it’s
meaningful, useful and purposeful performance inspired by and keeping in view the high
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and rich traditions consistent with its grace, dignity, utility and prestige.
It is recognized that the ethical rules of the legal profession are designed to guarantee the
performance of the function of the lawyers. “In a democratic society, the profession of
lawyers has to be regulated by its members; consequently, lawyers should respect the
discipline of their own law society or bar and the practice in accordance with the general
principles governing the profession. Apart from knowing the importance of professional
ethics, the most important thing which we should point out is the falling standard in legal
profession in respect of following ethics. Lawyers should not violate their professional ethics
to protect the dignity and honor of their profession.Therefore we can conclude that it is
necessary to take corrective steps in time to protect the dignity of legal profession.
Suggestions
From the above finding and analysis I conclude that the lawyers often fail to follow the
professional ethics as set by national and international laws. But in case of judges we
rarely find who violates the code of ethics. May be that is due to the role only as an
umpire. The Lawyer code of conduct, 2051 set by national legislation of Nepal has not
been fully effectively implemented. Despite that the court is playing prominent role to
implement the code instead of the other subordinate bodies like Bar association, bar
Council and so on. Lawyers are not very serious about following the code of conduct.
Even we can find some of the renounced lawyers in whose cases there is biasness in
decisions. So from this we can see falling standard in legal profession in following
ethics. Therefore for the effective implementation of lawyers’ code of conduct and the
Code of conduct of the Judges, in context of Nepal I have got some recommendations
1. For the effective implementation of code of conduct, the primary essence is the
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sense of internalizing the professional responsibilities by both professionals ie
2. Secondly the lawyers should differentiate between their role and identity. In this
way the laws are always created to guide and regulate the role of the lawyer but
his behaviors and role are more guided his identity. So that to be a highly
honored, ethical and renounced lawyer or legal practitioner one must be familiar
3. There must be direct and exclusive judicial control mechanism for regulating
lawyers disciplinary.
4. State must provide adequate number of prosecutors as per the reciprocity of the
6. Judges must more close his eyes and open his ears to hear the dispute. In this
sense, judge should not only focus on the lawyer’s argument, rather he/she must
go beyond this and with the judicial mind. He must find out whether a lawyer is
Although we are finding that our world gets smaller and smaller, our globalized legal
effectively engage in dispute resolution. Legal ethics are the embodiment of the cultural
values of a legal system and its broader society. To fully appreciate the meaning of the
ethical differences between us and our colleagues from civil law countries, we have to get
beyond the actual written word and understand the context. The limited allocated space of
this column forced me to distill a complex and nuanced topic in a few short pages. Yes,
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there remain many unanswered questions. Optimistically, I believe that awareness of the
complexity of this topic, as with any cultural learning, makes for a good beginning.
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