Arun Verma

Lecture One
 Morality is a differentiation of actions
between those that are right and wrong.
 Etiquette is a code that governs social
behavior within a society, class or
group.
 Ethics is the philosophy of moral
values.
Modern times philosophers have divided ethical
theories into 3 general subject areas:
1. Meta-Ethics: origin of ethical principles
2. Normative: how we arrive at moral standards i.e.
right or wrong conduct
3. Applied Ethics: examination of controversial issues
with tools of meta & normative ethics.
META-ETHICS: Ethical values are either ‘other worldly’
or ‘this worldly’ creations.
Issues arising in Meta-Ethics:
a)Egoism Vs Altruism
b)Emotion Vs Reason
c)Male Vs Female Morality
• It assists in availing legal representation to all in the society.
• It sets out the minimum duties of a legal practitioner. towards his
client, the court and to his counter parts in the profession.
• It spells out the minimum standards of practice. Enhances public
confidence in the legal profession.
• It builds loyalty between the advocate and his client.
• It gives the lawyer a guide line on how to act in cases of conflicts
of interest.
• It Assists in the protection of fundamental human interests like
life, liberty and property.
• It guides a lawyer on the best course of action when moral
issues are at stake.
• It promotes transparency and frankness between the client and
the advocate.
• It promotes integrity in the legal profession.
 A profession as a vocation requiring advanced
education and training. According to Roscoe Pound he
defined profession as a group pursuing a learned art as
a common calling in the spirit of public service.

Characteristics of a profession:
Skill based on theoretical knowledge Self regulation
Professional association Public service
Testing of competence Exclusion
Institutional training High status and reward
Licensed practitioners Granting of legitimacy
Control of remuneration and advertising Work autonomy
Code of professional ethics and conduct
What is a contract ? A Social Contract is an ideology - that
a person’s moral and political obligations are dependent
upon a contractual agreement among them to form the
society in which they live.

I. Socrates In a conversation between him and his friend

Crito, the social contract denotes the agreement to stay
in Athens and abide by the laws and accept the
punishment meted out .

II. II. Thomas Hobbes (1588 -1679) Looked at the origin of

a society, from the state of lawlessness to the realization
of the need of governance.
Legal history or the history of law is the study of how law has
evolved and why it changed. Legal history is closely
connected to the development of civilizations and is set in
the wider context of social history. Among certain jurists
and historians of legal process it has been seen as the
recording of the evolution of laws and the technical
explanation of how these laws have evolved with the view of
better understanding the origins of various legal concepts,
some consider it a branch of intellectual history.
By analyzing case outcomes, transaction
costs, number of settled cases they have
begun an analysis of legal institutions,
practices, procedures and briefs that give
us a more complex picture of law
and society than the study
of jurisprudence, case law and civil
codes can achieve.
The history of the legal profession in India
can be traced back to the establishment of
the First British Court in Bombay in 1672
by Governor Aungier. The admission of
attorneys was placed in the hands of the
Governor-in-Council and not with the
Court. Prior to the establishment of the
Mayor’s Courts in 1726 in Madras and
Calcutta, there were no legal practitioners.
Bar in legal terms means a
body of attorneys. In other
words it refers to body of
lawyers. Lawyers or Attorneys
are separated from the
general spectators of the
court hall as well as the area
reserved for the judges by
means of a bar or railing.
Only those who qualify
the Bar Examination are
allowed to practice law in the
court of law.
Bench means the members of
the judiciary. Bench in legal
terms means the location
identified in the courtroom,
where judges usually sit and
hear the cases. In other
words, it is a general term
used to designate the
associates of the judiciary
together.
MAYOR’S COURT
In the Charter of 1726, which established the Mayor’s Courts at the three
Presidency Towns, no specific provision was made laying down any particular
qualifications for the persons who would be entitled to act or plead as legal
practitioners in these courts.
SUPREME COURTS
Regulation Act, 1773.
The first concrete step in the direction of organizing a legal profession in India was
taken in 1774 when the Supreme Court was established at Calcutta. The Regulating
Act,1773, empowered the Supreme Court to frame rules of procedure as it thought
necessary for the administration of justice and due execution of its powers. Under
CI.11 of its Charter, the Supreme Court was empowered to approve, admit and
enroll such and so many Advocates and Attorneys-at-law, as to the Court shall
deem fit. Similar position obtained in the two other Supreme Courts at Bombay
and Madras.
COMPANY’S ADALATS
Regulation VII of 1793.[liii]
In the Company’s adalats, the deplorable state of affairs concerning the legal
profession has been graphically narrated in the preamble to Bengal regulation
VII of 1793. The Vakils were and large ignorant of the law and were subject to
harrashment and extortion from the ministerial officers of the courts. The
professional Vakils charged exorbitant fees. Regulation VII called itself on “for
the appointment of Vakils or native pleaders in the courts of civil judicature in
the Provinces of Bengal, Bihar and Orissa.”
Regulation XXVI of 1814[lv]:
Regulation of 1831
Madras and Bombay Regulations
The Legal Practitioners Act,1846
High Courts
The Legal Practitioners (women) Act, 1923
INDIAN BAR COMMITTEE, 1923
THE INDIAN BAR COUNCILS ACT, 1926
ALL INDIA BAR COMMITTEE, 1951
LAW COMMISSION REPORT: 1958
THE ADVOCATES ACT, 1961
(1) To lay down standards of professional conduct and etiquette for advocates.
(2) To safeguard the rights , privileges and interest of advocates
(3) To promote legal education
(4) To lay down standards of legal educati0on in consultation with the universities
imparting such educations in the State Bar Councils.
(5) To recognize universities which degrees in law shall qualify for enrollment as an
advocate and up to visit and inspect the universities for that purpose.
(6) To exercise general supervision and control over state bar councils.
(7) To promote and support law reform
(8) To organize legal aid to the poor.
The main powers and functions of the State Bar Council are:
(a) To admit persons as advocates on its roll
(b) To prepare and maintain such rolls.
(c) To entertain and determine cases of misconduct against advocates on its roll
(d) To safeguard the right , privileges and interest of advocates on its roll
(e) To promote and support law reform
(f) To organize legal aid to the poor
SUPREME COURT BAR
The rules of the Federal Court laid down “a person shall not be entitled to be
enrolled as an Advocate unless he is, and has been for not less than ten years in the
case of a Senior Advocate or five years in the case of any other Advocate, enrolled
as an Advocate in the High Court of a Province”. Under those rules it was not
necessary that such an Advocate should hold a degree in law of a University. Any
Advocate enrolled with a State Bar Council is now entitled to practice in the
Supreme Court irrespective of his standing at the Bar.In the Supreme Court there
exist three categories of advocates Senior Advocates, Advocates and Advocates on
record.
A Senior Advocate is one who with his consent may be designated as such if the
Supreme Court is of the opinion that by virtue of ability, experience and standing at
the Bar he is deserving of such distinction. An Advocate can become an Advocate on
record after undergoing one year training with an Advocate on record and passing
an examination held by the Court. He has to have an office in Delhi within a radius
of 16 kilometers of the Court House and has to employ a registered clerk. A
senior Advocate cannot appear before the Supreme Court without an advocate on
record or without a junior in any other court or tribunal in India. An Advocate (other
than a Senior Advocate) cannot appear and plead before the court in any matter
unless he is instructed by an Advocate on record. Thus, a sort of dual system exists
in the Supreme Court.