Poor justice: It takes two to tangle
Aug 29, 2003
SIR— While I respect Philip Aligawesa’s opinion in letter “Our learned friends indeed!â€
SIR— While I respect Philip Aligawesa’s opinion in letter “Our learned friends indeed!†which appeared in The New Vision of August 28, I would like to correct the impression he gave that lawyers are reviled pests who stretch the limits of dishonesty, perpetrate corruption and subvert the cause of justice.
Aligawesa cannot purport to speak on the shortcomings of the legal practitioners without pointing the finger at the decadent society we all live in. It is known that some sections of the public lead lawyers down the garden path by linking them to clients keen on buying justice. Inadequacies and corruption in some areas of the legal profession is inextricably intertwined with the same vices within the society of which Aligawesa is a part.
Much has been said about lawyers’ conduct. Though it is now a matter of public concern that some lawyers are corrupt and dishonest, the public is not exonerated. Aligawesa should know that the Law Council Disciplinary Committee is composed of lawyers who are mandated to hear cases and punish errant members of the law fraternity. For the record, it is doing a good job in this regard.
In order for justice to be administered, honesty, integrity, decency, commitment and zeal are expected from both the public and the lawyers. For as the saying goes, “it takes two to tangleâ€.
When deceit and other underhand methods become the driving force in what a client tells the lawyer, then the noble ideals which lawyers swear to uphold cease to determine the administration and practice of justice. Then it will no longer be possible to say with pride that we are lawyers.
Therefore, the public should help to clean its act. The public must not buy justice. It must also refuse any demands for rewards in exchange of favourable outcomes in litigation.
Not to appear biased, lawyers also need to clean the profession. We must play a lead role in the administration of justice by upholding the principles of just behaviour and treatment. This entails upright, fair and ethical principles. We as lawyers should uphold these to serve as the basis of our respect.
The question I wish to ask is, do we have the right people who are called to the bar to dispense justice? Yes, but like all sectors of the society, the legal fraternity has some errant members in its ranks.
For those who are principled, keep it up. For those who are not, this is the time to change. It will be futile if Aligawesa wholly criticises lawyers but is silent on society’s decadence.
Vincent Babalanda
babz@lawyer.com
Aligawesa cannot purport to speak on the shortcomings of the legal practitioners without pointing the finger at the decadent society we all live in. It is known that some sections of the public lead lawyers down the garden path by linking them to clients keen on buying justice. Inadequacies and corruption in some areas of the legal profession is inextricably intertwined with the same vices within the society of which Aligawesa is a part.
Much has been said about lawyers’ conduct. Though it is now a matter of public concern that some lawyers are corrupt and dishonest, the public is not exonerated. Aligawesa should know that the Law Council Disciplinary Committee is composed of lawyers who are mandated to hear cases and punish errant members of the law fraternity. For the record, it is doing a good job in this regard.
In order for justice to be administered, honesty, integrity, decency, commitment and zeal are expected from both the public and the lawyers. For as the saying goes, “it takes two to tangleâ€.
When deceit and other underhand methods become the driving force in what a client tells the lawyer, then the noble ideals which lawyers swear to uphold cease to determine the administration and practice of justice. Then it will no longer be possible to say with pride that we are lawyers.
Therefore, the public should help to clean its act. The public must not buy justice. It must also refuse any demands for rewards in exchange of favourable outcomes in litigation.
Not to appear biased, lawyers also need to clean the profession. We must play a lead role in the administration of justice by upholding the principles of just behaviour and treatment. This entails upright, fair and ethical principles. We as lawyers should uphold these to serve as the basis of our respect.
The question I wish to ask is, do we have the right people who are called to the bar to dispense justice? Yes, but like all sectors of the society, the legal fraternity has some errant members in its ranks.
For those who are principled, keep it up. For those who are not, this is the time to change. It will be futile if Aligawesa wholly criticises lawyers but is silent on society’s decadence.
Vincent Babalanda
babz@lawyer.com