Course Title: Professional Ethics

L T P/ SW PSDA Total
Course Code: LAW512 S credit
units
Credit Units: 4
3 0 0 2 1 4
Level: UG

Course Objectives:

The Course has been designed to acquaint the student of Law about the Professional Ethics and Professional etiquettes that are essentially significant for an
advocate to observe while at the Bar. Accountability and transparency are imperative to the profession. Besides, the conducive and cordial Bar- Bench relations
can send a good message concerning the richness of the Legal profession.

Pre-requisites: Basic understanding of bar-bench relations and legal profession.

Course Contents/Syllabus:
Weightage (%)
Module I: History of the Legal Profession in India 25
Historical introduction to legal profession in India – Barristers, Vakils, High Court Pleaders, Advocates, etc. The All
India Bar Committee, 1951 and the passing of Indian Advocates Act, 1961. The Advocates Act 1961: Definitions
Section 2, Constitution and function of State Bar Councils, Bar Council of India, Terms of Office, various sub-
committees including Disciplinary Committee and the qualification for their membership. Power to make rules
Sections 3 to 15 – Chapter –II.

Module II: The Advocate’s Act, 1961 20

The Advocate Act, 1961.Admission and enrolment of Advocate – Senior and other Advocates,
 Common role of Advocates, Qualifications and Disqualifications for enrolment and procedure thereof, Chapter – III
Section 16 to 28. Rights to Practice: Monopoly of representation, Exclusion of advocates from certain cases, self-
representation by litigants. Chapter IV Secs. 29 to 34. Professional and other misconduct, Principles for determining
misconduct, Disciplinary Committees of State Bar Council and the Bar Council of India, Punishment of advocates for
misconduct, Appeals to the Supreme Court, Chapter – V – Secs. 35 to 44.
Supreme Court Rules 1966
i. Advocates and their Course of Conduct
ii. Role of Single Judge and Registrar of the Supreme Court
iii. Types of Petition Entertained by the Supreme Court, Writ petition, Election Petition

Module III: Legal Profession 20

Nature of Legal Profession, Need for an Ethical Code of Rights: privileges and duties of Advocates, Preparation of a
case and fees of an Advocate, under – cutting, Bar against soliciting work and advertisement, Bar against touting,
refusal of briefs, accountability to the client, confidentiality between an Advocate to compromise, Study of code of
Ethics prepared by the Bar Council of India. Duty of an advocate towards the Court, Client, Opponent, along with the
Duty towards the society of advocate.
Client Counselling
Module IV: Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 20
Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, What is Contempt? Civil and criminal contempt, punishment for contempt.
Procedures in contempt cases. High Court Rules and the Supreme Court Rules to regulate contempt proceedings.

Module V: Impact of globalization on legal services in India in Recent Times 15

Impact of Globalization on legal profession in India, Legal outsourcing in India, Role of advocate in providing legal aid
services, Advocate's role in outside court/informal settlement of disputes

Course Learning Outcomes:

The outcomes for the course are that at the end the students will be able to:

• Recall and apply the professional ethics and ethical standards of the legal profession.
• Demonstrate understanding of professional ethics and ethical standards of the legal profession.
• Analyze and apply the professional ethics and ethical standard of the legal profession.
• Appraise accountability and transparency which are imperative to the profession.
 • Develop insights about the professional parameters.

Pedagogy for Course Delivery: The class will be taught with the help of latest & landmark Judgments of the Apex Court & must be taught by a person who
has practiced as an advocate or has been an Advocate as prescribed Bar Council of India Rules & Inspection Manual,2010.

List of Professional Skill Development Activities (PSDA):

❖ Client Counselling
❖ Mock Trial
❖ Moot Court
❖ Project work on working of BCI and State Bar Council.

Lab/ Practicals details, if applicable: N/A

List of Experiments:

Assessment/ Examination Scheme:

Theory L/T (%) Lab/Practical/Studio (%) End Term Examination

100% NA 60%

Theory Assessment (L&T):

 Continuous Assessment / Internal Assessment (40%)

Components (Drop Class Test PSDA Project PSDA Project PSDA Viva Attendance Total
down) Proposals Reports End Term Examination
(60%)

Weightage (%) 10% 5% 10% 10% 5% 60% 100%

Lab/ Practical/ Studio Assessment: N/A

Continuous Assessment/Internal Assessment End Term Examination

(____ %) (____ %)

Components (Drop down NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Weightage (%) NA NA NA NA NA NA NA

Mapping Continuous Evaluation components/PSDA with CLOs

Bloom’s Level > Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating

 Course Learning Recall and Demonstrate Apply the Analyze Appraise Develop
Outcomes apply the understanding of professiona professional accountabil insights
professional professional l ethics and ethics and ity and about the
ethics and ethics and ethical ethical ethical transparenc professional
Assessment ethical standards of the standard of standard of y which are parameters.
type/PSDA standards of the legal profession. the legal the legal imperative
legal profession. profession. to the
profession. profession.

Class Test ✓ ✓ ✓
Project ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
Viva ✓ ✓
PSDA (Report) ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓ ✓
PSDA (Presentation) ✓ ✓ ✓

Text Reading:

P Ramanatha Aiyer, Legal and Professional Ethics: Legal Ethics, Duties and Privileges of a Lawyer, Lexis Nexis, 2003
The Advocates Act, 1960
Kailash Rai, Legal Ethics, CLP, 2007 (7th Edn)
Ramachandran Raju & Gaurav Agarwal, B.R. Agarwala's Supreme Court
Practice and Procedure, Eastern Book Company, 2002

References:
1. RajuRamachandran, Professional Ethics: Changing Profession and Changing Ethics (LexisNexis,Butterworths).
2. Dr. P. B. Mukharji, Professional Ethics of The Advocate (University of Burdwan)
3. P. RamanathaAiyer,Legal & Professional Ethics – Legal Ethics, Duties & Privileges of a Lawyer(Wadhwa Publications, Nagpur).
4. Justice V. R. Krishna Iyer,Law, Lawyers and Justice(b. R. Publishing Corpn, Delhi).
5. Stephen Gillers, Regulation of Lawyers: Problems of Law & Ethics (Little, Brown & Com Boston Toronto, London).
6. Ross Grauston (ed.), Legal Ethics & Professional Responsibility (Clarendon Press, Oxford).
7. Gary Bellow & Bea Moultan,The Lawyering Process: Ethics and Professional Responsibility, (The Foundation Press, Inc.).
8. D.V. SubbaRao, Sanjiva Row’s The Advocates Act, 1961(LexisNexis, Butterworths).
9. Nicolson and Webb, Professional Legal Ethics (OUP).