Submitted by : Adeeb Arshad (17BALLB030)

Submitted to: Dr. Naseema. P. K

Asst professor department of law AMU-MC
Subject : Professional Ethics
Assignment in place of end term examination

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RIGHTS AND DUTIES OF ADVOCATES

The Advocates Act 1961

Introduction

Lawyers and solicitors are the mainstay of the Indian judicial system and are known as court
officials. A lawyer is someone who finds errors in the law so that the court can interpret the law.
However, only an attorney has the right to represent his or her client in court. You check the
difference between avocado and avocado in our recent article. In this article, we will discuss
attorney's rights and attorney's duties, so you'll understand how confident and willing a lawyer
is to take on any case.

Advocate’s Act of 1961 provides that only defence counsels have the right to practice law in
court. This means that anyone who has not registered their name with the Bar will not be able to
practice law in court. Section 2(a) of the Bar Act 1961 provides that any lawyer whose name is
registered with the board of State Bars shall be entitled to practice in all territories of India where
the law extend.

In a word, once you have registered your name with Bar, you are free to practice before the
Supreme Court and High Court, any other judicial court, semi-judicial court or before any person
legally authorized to obtain oral and documentary evidence. . Though there are certain standards
to practice before the Supreme Court of India. Only Registered Attorneys (AOA) can apply to
the Supreme Court of India.

It is well known that every person has rights and obligations given by the State in which he lives
or performs work, business or employment. Similarly, the Law on Lawyers of 1961 regulates the
rights of lawyers as well as the duties of lawyers.
Whenever a person feels that his fundamental rights have been infringed, or there is anything
wrong has been done with him, he moved to the court to represent himself in the court for the
need of justice. But as you know that, generally, a person cannot fight his case in a court of law,
so he needs an advocate for that. The reason behind this, that the advocates’ act 1961 has given
rights to the advocate which allow him to deal with the case in more accurate and professional
ways. So let’s start with the rights of an advocate given under the Advocates act 1961.
Rights of an advocate
The Advocates act 1961 provides and protects the following rights to an advocate in India:

Right to Practice (Section 30)

The right to practice in the court is the exclusive right that is given to an advocate who is
enrolled in the Bar Council of India.

Section 30 of the Advocates act provides specific protections for the right of an advocate to
practice in any court or tribunal in India if his name is registered in the Bar Council list.
Section 30 of the Advocates act 1961 came into force on June 15, 2011. The Government of
India issued a Gazette notification on June 9, 2011, that section 30 of the Advocates act 1961
shall come into force from the date of June 15, 2011.
It was a major step taken by the government to provide the right to an advocate for the practice.
After the enforcement of this section, now an Indian advocate can practice in the Supreme Court,
high court, other lower courts, quasi-judicial courts, tribunals or before any person who has the
legal authority to take the pieces of evidence.

Article 19 (1) (g) of the constitution of India also gives the general protection for the right to
practice in court. Article 19 (1) (g) clearly says that “every person has the right to practice any
profession, trade or business”.
Praveen Pandey Vs State of Madhya Pradesh
The court held in this case that if an advocate has been restricted from doing his legal work, it
will be termed as a violation of his right given under article 19 (1)(g) of the constitution of India.

Right to Pre -audience

Section 23 of the advocate Act 1961 deals with the right to pre audience rule. This rule can be
seen as a privilege to an advocate. It is the right of being heard before another is heard. In
simple words, the law provides the right to advocate who is upper in the hierarchy system.
The advocate hierarchy system in India is as follow:
1. Attorney General
2. Solicitor General
3. Additional Solicitor General
4. Second additional solicitor General
5. Advocate general of the state
6. Senior advocates
7. Other advocates
This is the advocate hierarchy in India. As per the right to pre-audience, the Attorney General
will be the first advocate who can represent his case first in the court of law before another
advocate.

For example, an attorney general is representing his client in a case where a fresh advocate is
representing the opposing party in the case. In this situation, the Attorney General will be heard
first.
This rule also gives a wider sense that an advocate has the right to represent his client before the
court of law and he has the right to speak before an audience present in the courtroom.
Right to freedom of speech and expression
An advocate while arguing in litigation cannot be stopped from speaking unless he violates
the terms and rules of the court of law. Article 19 (1) (a) of the constitution of India gives the
right to freedom of speech and expression. This fundamental right is available to all the citizens
of India. Being an advocate a person can also enjoy the right to speech and expression even in
the court of law.
Right to enter any court and observe the proceedings
As per section 30 of the Advocates Act 1961, any person who has enrolled in the bar council of
India can practice in any Court of law in any tribunal. This section also enables the right of an
advocate to enter into any courtroom to observe the proceedings. The point will not affect
whether he was connected to that case or not. An advocate has the right to enter the Supreme
Court to hear any live proceedings.

Right against arrest

An advocate is known as the judicial officer of the court. Section 135 of the civil procedure code
exempt the advocates from rest under civil case while he is:

• Going to the court

• Presiding his case in the court
• Returning from the court
These are the circumstances in which the police cannot arrest an advocate in a civil matter.

Right to meet with accused

When an advocate takes any case in which the accused is in jail, the right to meet the accused
person comes into force. As per law, a person is innocent until proven guilty. So it becomes
important for an advocate to understand the case properly by meeting his client even in the jail to
discuss all the related facts and evidence of the case which will help an advocate to fight the case
in the court of law.

An advocate can meet the accused even in jail however the meeting in jail will be limited. It is
the right of an advocate to meet his client even every day.

Right to secure the privacy of the communication

It is an exclusive right of an advocate given by section 129 of the Indian Evidence Act 1872.
According to this section, the advocate has the right to secure the privacy of the communication
with his client. The advocate is not liable to tell anybody about the discussion done between him
and his client related to the case. Section 129 of the Indian evidence Act 1872 also provides that
no person can threaten an advocate to disclose the communication done between him and his
client.

Right to take the fee

Rule 11 of chapter 2 of part VI of bar council of India rules enables an advocate to take fees from
his client. Any advocate who has done something for his client or gives any service to any client
for a person has the right to take a fee from that person.
Right to refuse for a case
It is the right of an advocate that he can refuse to take the case which is dealing with illegal
things.

Duties of an advocate
The Advocates Act 1961 also provides some necessary duties against the advocate. The law
provides the duties of an advocate towards his client and towards the court. So let’s discuss
them.

Duties of an advocate towards his client

Bound to accept the briefs
It is the duty of the advocate to know the brief of the case while he is dealing with the case in the
court or tribunal or any other legal authority. An advocate must know about the nature of the
case and on related and necessary facts of the case.

Duty not to withdraw from the case

An advocate should not withdraw from giving his service to the client once he has agreed to give
him that service. An advocate can only withdraw his service if he has a reasonable cause or he
has given sufficient notice to his client. Also when an advocate withdraws his service, he must
refund a genuine part of the fees.

Duty to handle the case without any fear

It is the duty of the advocate to deal with the case of his client without any fear or without any
pressure. He should deal with the case fearlessly and the proceedings in the case should be fair.

Full disclosure to the client

It is the duty of an advocate to disclose all defects and connections with the parties and any
interest which may affect the judgement of the case.

Not suppress evidence or fact

An advocate who is appearing before the court of law in a criminal case should not suppress any
evidence which is important for the judgement. The motive of the advocate should not lead to the
conviction of an innocent person.

Not appear in a matter where he is a witness

An advocate should not plead in a case where he is also a witness. If an advocate sees any case
related to him then he should not take that case for pleading. The advocate should retire from that
case and let other advocates continue that case.

Loyalty in the case

The Advocate must not have any personal interest in the case. He must represent his client in
court without any personal gain.
Duty related to the confidential communication
If a client made any confidential communication with his advocate then it is the duty of the
advocate to maintain the confidentiality of that communication between him and his client.

Work only on the instruction of the client

An advocate should take the instructions from his client for any authorized person from his client
only. The advocate should not take any instruction from another person who is not in the favour
of his client or not authorized by his client.

The fee of the case should not charge on the success of the case
Sometimes the advocates take the percentage for some shares in the property after winning the
case which is a bad practice. The advocate should not charge on the success of the case.

Not purchase the property rising from the case

The advocate should not purchase or bid on the property which is the matter in a legal
proceeding. However, there is no restriction where an advocate is bidding or buying the property
on the behalf of his client.

Not to Misuse of confidential information

It is the duty of the advocate that he should not misuse the confidential information which he
gains from his client. An advocate should not blackmail his client for the confidential
information given to him by the client.

Not appear in the opposition of his client

It is the duty of an advocate that he should not appear in a case where he has given legal advice
to a party and now he is opposing him in the case. In such a case an advocate should quit the case
or shift the case to another advocate.

Duties of an advocate against the court

Respect the court
It is the duty of an advocate against the court that he should respect the court and judges in the
court. He should not do any act which breaks the rules and regulations of the court.

No private communication with the judge

An advocate should not communicate with a judge related to the case which is still pending in
the court because it is unethical to practice.

Refused to act in an illegal manner

An advocate should refuse to do any illegal work while representing his client in court. He
should also stop his client from doing any illegal act to win the case. There should not be any
illegal practice from the account of an advocate towards the pleadings in the court.
Appear in proper dress code
The advocate should appear in the proper dress while addressing the court in a case. The bar
council of India has defined the dress code for an advocate to represent the case before the court
of law.

Refuse to appear in the court where the judge in relation

An advocate should not fight the case in a court where the judge is in relation with the advocate.
The relationship can be anything whether it’s a blood relationship or any other relation.

Not wear gowns or bands in public places

The advocate should only wear the gown while proceeding in the court. He should not wear the
gown and band in public places unless he is in the ceremonial function by the Bar Council of
India.

Conclusion

The Advocates Act of 1961 established various rights and responsibilities for an advocate in
relation to his client and the court. The act also protects an advocate from being arrested in a
civil lawsuit, ensuring that his client receives justice while he is representing him in court.

Because advocates assist the court in serving justice in civil and criminal matters, an advocate's
rights are to protect justice. However, if an advocate abuses the authority granted by the law, the
legislation also spells out the consequences.