Responsibilities on Advocates – Brief Note.

Advocacy is a noble profession. It cannot be compared with any other profession like trade, business etc. because it is a part and parcel of judiciary and administration of justice. Bar and bench are two eyes of the ‘Justice’. There are judicial ethics and etiquette for judges. There are professional ethics and etiquette for advocates. Every advocate should follow them in his profession. An advocate is also a key person in conducting a proceeding before the court. While conducting a proceeding the advocate should function intelligently. There are several functions entrusted to the advocate. There are five most important functions. They are[3]:

• Briefing
• Counseling
• Pleadings, drafting and Conveyancing
• Examination, Cross – examination, chief examination of witness and
• Arguments.

Beside them, an advocate has to do several functions which are necessary in conducting proceedings. While carrying out these functions an advocate must act prudently, legally and cautiously. There are several ethics and etiquette controlling the conduct of the advocates. These ethics and etiquette impose certain duties upon the advocates. Ethics and etiquette means ethics are morals, a moral philosophy or moral science. It is the first stage of society.

Etiquette is the second stage, which formulates the rules of behaviour standard in polite society. Humans have experienced ethics in their life. They are inherent in every religion. Along with the civilization of humans there were Ethics. Every religion preached morals and ethics. Etiquette is restricted to particular kind of profession. It is nothing but regularization of ethics. In simple words ethics are bundle of habits whereas etiquette is bundle of rules of ethics. These rules have statutory force[4].

Every advocate must follow these duties because they are part and parcel of the professional ethics and etiquette. Whoever fails to oblige them, such an advocate is said to have committed professional misconduct and be punished accordingly.

As stated above, the important duties that have to be followed by the advocate are[5]:

1. Advocate’s Duty to the Court
2. Advocate’s Duty to the Client
3. Advocate’s Duty to the Opponent Advocate.
4. Advocate’s Duty to the Cross Examination
5. Advocate’s Duty to the Colleagues

Advocate’s Duty To The Court:

An advocate is considered as an officer of the court, honoured member of the community, and a gentleman, thinking that to become a member of the bar he has to be lawful and moral not only in his professional capacity but also in his non – professional capacity. An advocate has to courageously support the interest of his client and also have to follow the principles of ethics and etiquette both in correspondence.

Following Are The Duties Of Advocate Towards To Court[6]:

1. An advocate while presenting his case should conduct himself with dignity and self respect
2. Respectful attitude must be maintained by the advocate. He has to keep in mind the dignity of the judge.
3. An advocate should not, by any improper means should influence the decision given by the court.
4. It is the duty of the advocate to prevent his client from resorting to unfair practices and also the advocate himself should not do any of such acts.
5. Dress code has to be maintained by the advocate while appearing before the court.
6. An advocate should not take up any case of his family members and relatives.
7. No bands or gowns had to be worn by the advocate in the public places. It is only limited to the court premises.
8. An advocate cannot be as a surety for his client.
9. It is the duty of the advocate to cooperate with the bench in the court.
10. It is the duty of the advocate to perform his functions in such a manner that due to his acts the honor, dignity and integrity of the courts shall not be affected.
11. An advocate should not laugh or speak loudly in the court room especially when the proceedings are going on.
12. When an advocate accepts a brief, he should attend all adjournments properly. If he has any other work in another court, he should first obtain the permission from the court concerned. Particularly in criminal cases, it is the first and foremost duty of an advocate to attend.
13. While the case is going on, the advocate cannot leave the court without court’s permission and without putting another man in charge, preferably his colleague or junior or friend advocate. Credit Goes to LegalServicesindia Website.