Reports of Committees

DOIhttp://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2230.1970.tb01297.x
Published date01 September 1970
Date01 September 1970
REPORTS
OF
COMMITTEES
JUSTICE
REPORT
ON
COMPLAINTS
AGAINST
LAWYERS
THE effectiveness of a legal system and the respect
it
is accorded
depend to a large extent
on
the integrity and competence of its
per-
sonnel.
The position of the judiciary is obvious, but the key posi-
tion of the practitioner has not always been recognised. Yet
it
is
the practitioner who has
to
explain and interpret the law to the
individual. The law will fall into disrespect not only by reason of
judicial decisions
or
legislation which the individual does not under-
stand but also
if
the practitioner fails in
his
function. The Report
by
JUSTICE
commences with a valuable appreciation of the position
of the practitioner in a legal system.
It
is
stressed that adequate
communication between the practitioner and the individual will
have an important, perhaps decisive, effect
on
the individual’s
sense of justice. He sees the lawyer as a representative of
(‘
the
law
and he is therefore likely to be suspicious of the indepen-
dence of
(‘
the law
unless any complaint he may have is considered
with such meticulous care as to satisfy the public’s requirements of
visible justice, not merely the lawyer’s own specialised standards,
high though these may be.
The Report grew out
of
a suggestion that a study should be
made of the question whether complaints against members of the
legal profession should be investigated by
or
with the assistance of
persons other than lawyers. The actual terms of reference were
rather wider. They were:
(a) to inquire into and report
on
the present methods avail-
able for investigating complaints against members of the
legal profession;
(b) to report
on
the adequacy of such methods
from
the point
of
view
of
the complainant
I;
(c) to suggest,
if
necessary, possible improvements.
The Report looks at the problem from the point of view of the
complainant, but
it
is recognised that the identification of lawyers
with
‘‘
the law
works both ways and the lawyer often has to
bear the odium created by, for example, badly drafted legislation
or
slow law reform which are not his responsibility.
It
is
also
accepted that the complexity of the law as a whole and the
pressure under which lawyers are obliged
to
work are often the
direct cause of delays and inadequate communication both
of
which lie at the root
of
most complaints.
It
is
recognised too
that account must be taken of the fact that many complaints are
1
My
itslica.
542

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT