From the great variety of modern varieties of professional ethics, it is necessary to single out legal. This category is closely related to the peculiarities of legal activity, during which human destinies are often decided. What is legal ethics? Does its significance grow or fade away today? Why? You can find answers to these and other equally important questions in the process of familiarization with the materials of this article.
Legal ethics: concept
Legal ethics is a special category, because the corresponding activity is promoted by specialists of various professions of a legal orientation. Among them are prosecutors, lawyers, investigators, judges, employees of law enforcement bodies, state security, legal advisers, customs officers, notaries, tax police officers and so on.
It is important to note that today each of the professions presented has its own codes regarding professional ethics, which are recorded in various regulations and documents. Thus, the legal ethics of a lawyer , judge, prosecutor and many other categories stand out. It should be noted that today's codes include the following items:
- Code of Honor Judge.
- Judge Code of Honor for the Constitutional Court.
- Rules of professional ethics for a lawyer.
- Code of legal ethics in terms of honor of employees of bodies and relevant departments of the interior.
- Oath of the prosecutor.
- Standards of the Criminal Code as well as the Code of Criminal Procedure.
So, professional legal ethics of a lawyer is impossible without the documents listed above. In addition, an important role is played by simple moral standards that are not fixed in the codes. One way or another, this should be remembered.
It would be advisable to conclude that legal ethics is nothing more than a kind of professional ethics, which is an organized set of standards of conduct for employees of the legal field. The latter, one way or another, are recorded in the provisions, codes and oaths that govern both official and extra-official behavior of workers in this field.
Content of legal ethics
As it turned out, the legal ethics system , due to the specifics of the activities of employees of the legal field, contains judicial, prosecutorial, investigative, lawyer ethics, ethics of employees of law enforcement bodies, as well as state security, including various structural divisions, legal services of enterprises, joint-stock companies and firms, as well ethics of teachers of legal schools and legal scholars.
It is important to note that further integration and specialization of legal activity may lead to the formation of fundamentally new types of legal ethics. Today, for example, there is a question about the ethics of a lawyer-programmer or computer user.
One way or another, professional legal ethics does not boil down to judicial ethics alone. By the way, this position in history has a special place. Thus, the authors of the “Judicial Handbook”, which was published in 1972, presented judicial ethics as a “broad, generic term encompassing the work of not only judges, but also investigators, prosecutors, lawyers, interrogators, and other persons who promote justice ”(page 33 of the Handbook of the Judge). The authors of this book proceeded primarily from the fundamental place of the judiciary in the general system of state law enforcement agencies. In addition, under Article 10 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, the judiciary is nothing more than a special branch of state power.
Why was legal ethics equated with judicial ethics?
Why did professional ethics of legal activity equate to judicial? The reason for this can also be seen in the fact that, in accordance with Article 118 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, justice in the Russian Federation is carried out exclusively by judicial bodies through constitutional, civil, administrative and criminal proceedings. Thus, all the activities of subjects of professional-legal relations that precede the trial work for the judiciary. In other words, it is carried out for the sake of justice in relation to a particular case.
So, all types of legal ethics were formed on the basis of judicial ethics. An established common goal, which, one way or another, relates to activities carried out by all law enforcement agencies; the similarity of moral and professional requirements to the subjects of this activity, and became the main factor behind the emergence of such a consolidating term as judicial ethics. By the way, it is often defined as "a science about the moral roots of the judiciary and other related activities."
With all the well-deserved respect for the judiciary as the most important part of the state law enforcement system as a whole, relating to the protection of the legitimate interests and rights of both legal entities and individuals, their activities cannot cover all aspects without exception, which relate to multifaceted and large-scale in terms of understanding legal activity. That is why all types of legal ethics are only sections of the professional ethics of legal professionals. It is necessary to add that the provision also applies to judicial ethics.
Analysis of other sub-sectors of ethics
As noted, the ethics of legal activity , in addition to judicial, includes other sub-sectors. This includes the ethics of the legal adviser (business lawyer); and the ethics of a lawyer who is called upon to assist a suspect, defendant, accused or victim in accordance with his qualifications (ethics of lawyers); and the ethics of a specialist lawyer who reveals crimes and investigates criminal cases and so on.
In the fall of 1901, Anatoly Fedorovich Koni initiated a reading of the course regarding criminal proceedings. The event was held at the Alexander Lyceum. In 1902, in the Journal of the Ministry of Justice, his introductory lecture entitled “Moral Principles in relation to Criminal Procedure” was published, while the subheading was the phrase “ Features of Legal Ethics ”. In the next chapter, it will be advisable to discuss the moral rules that determine each of the currently known varieties of legal ethics.
Moral rules
Each type of legal ethics (for example, the legal ethics of a lawyer , lawyer, judge, prosecutor and so on), along with moral principles of a general orientation, is also endowed with a specific set of moral rules. The latter, one way or another, are due to the characteristics of legal activity. Therefore, one can legally talk about scientific areas, in accordance with which the study is carried out not only of the judicial, but also of the investigative, advocate ethics and so on. Moreover, legal ethics in this case is the basis on which the presented varieties are formed.
It would be advisable to conclude that the enrichment of the content of each type is nothing more than a qualitative and quantitative improvement in knowledge regarding legal ethics in general. At the same time, one must never lose sight of the fact that the moral standards, professional and moral requirements that underlie the varieties and are presented to the relevant subjects are enshrined through legal norms and implemented in law enforcement, which, one way or another, relates to the issue under consideration.
That is why professional ethics in legal professions of any type includes exclusively moral standards and attitudes that arise in the process of implementing the actual legal activity of a particular specialist lawyer, whether it is a judge, lawyer, prosecutor or representatives of other professions in this category. The provisions presented in the chapter, one way or another, necessitate the study of general requirements, which, as a rule, are presented to lawyers regardless of their specialization.
Code of Legal Ethics
Under the code of professional ethics of a lawyer, one should understand the system of moral principles that underlie its activities and serve as a guide in the worldview and methodological plan. It is important to note that it is impossible to present a complete list of the moral principles of the specialist in question, because each person is individual, therefore, each person can be a carrier of more or less of these moral principles in a different combination.
Nevertheless, today, key moral principles stand out without which a lawyer would not be able to take place in a state of law. It is they who make up the content of the code regarding the activities of a professional lawyer. It would be advisable to consider the relevant items in more detail.
The rule of law and humanity
The rule of law , such as the rule of law, means that a professional in the legal field recognizes his own mission of serving the law and the law, as well as observes the rule of law. Thus, in a practical aspect, a lawyer cannot identify the definitions of law and law, however, he must not contrast these terms. It should be noted that, in one way or another, he undertakes to invoke the following consideration: the law in any lawful state is fair, legal and subject to strict enforcement. Moreover, even if a certain law, in accordance with the opinion of a specialist, does not completely share the ideas of the rule of law, it undertakes to guard the observance of all the provisions of this legal act. Such circumstances, in some respects, reflect the principle of priority of the law, connectedness by law, which in any case cannot be refuted. So, it is professional lawyers who are called upon to fight against nihilism, legal anarchy, and also to be guardians of the law and “servants” of law.
In addition to the rule of law, legal ethics certainly contains a humane attitude to all people. This principle is included in the code of professional ethics. It is important to note that he emphasizes the following position: high qualification alone (namely, a diploma and subsequent certification) is not enough to become a professional legal worker. Therefore, it is important not to forget that serious concern is given to his caring attitude to absolutely every individual that a specialist encounters in the performance of his duties. It must be remembered that all people with whom, in accordance with the nature of their own activities, a lawyer communicates (here include victims, witnesses, clients, suspects, etc.), consider him not only as an executor of a specific professional role, but also as a person with some characteristics of positive and negative orientation.
It is important to note that each individual who, due to certain circumstances, communicates with a judge, investigator, prosecutor or lawyer, expects from them both professional (qualified) performance of duties, and respectful attitude to himself and his problem. After all, the culture of a lawyer is judged precisely by its relation to absolutely every person individually. So, a professional’s respectful attitude towards a person with all its problems allows you to create a special psychological atmosphere, as well as ensure success in legal affairs.
What should be understood by respectful attitude to people? A humane attitude is nothing more than a relationship where, in a practical aspect (in connection with certain motives and actions), one way or another, the dignity of the individual is recognized . The concept of respect that has developed in the public mind suggests the following categories: equality of rights, justice, trust in people, the maximum level of satisfaction of human interests, attentive attitude to people's beliefs and their problems, politeness, sensitivity, and delicacy.
Putting ideas into practice
Unfortunately, in practical terms, the idea that a person, his dignity and honor is above all, today has not completely mastered the lawyers. By the way, this provision is especially typical for employees of modern law enforcement agencies.
Often, police officers in the process of their own activities infringe on the rights of victims through ordinary inaction - refusal to initiate criminal cases and registration of crimes, despite the existence of sufficient grounds for this. It is important to remember that inexhaustible harm to such relationships as a “client lawyer” is done through the bureaucratic thinking of a certain number of “servants of the law”. The fact is that in the case of such thinking, there is no place for a person in the legal profession. By the way, for a bureaucrat, an individual is sometimes an excellent tool for resolving issues that are significant for society. However, as a rule, a person for him is an obstacle to solving such issues. So, a situation arises: for the sake of the public good, the interests and rights of a particular person are infringed.
Bureaucracy is always anti-democratic in nature, but in law enforcement it is much more dangerous, because in this case there are many opportunities for suppressing a person as a person. In addition, with great desire, it is here that you can imperceptibly erase the border separating arbitrariness from justice. In order to avoid such circumstances, it is necessary to return to law enforcement the originally conceived purpose, which consists in protecting people and endowing them with a reliable guarantor of justice.
Decency
The next feature of a category such as legal ethics is decency. It is one of the initial principles of a sufficiently high moral degree of professional operations. This principle is interpreted as organic inability to act inhumanly. First of all, the use of the presented rule is noticeable in the methods and techniques used by a professional lawyer in their own activities.
It should be noted that in order to achieve absolutely any set goal, the legal figure chooses such techniques and methods that in no way conflict with legal and moral standards. The fact is that in a legislative manner it is impossible to regulate all sorts of nuances that, one way or another, are associated with legal practice. That is why in certain situations, the good name or even the fate of a person and his relatives depends on the decency of the judge, investigator or notary.
It is important to know that the decency inherent in a professional lawyer is built on the following qualities: empathy, trust, truthfulness, honesty. By the way, the presented characteristics should be manifested in absolutely all types of relationships: “lawyer-client”, “manager-subordinate”, “colleague-colleague” and so on.
The trust
Trust should be understood as a person’s attitude to the actions and actions of another person, as well as to himself. Confidence is primarily based on the conviction that this person is right, honesty, integrity, fidelity.
Today, management often sees in its repaired only executors of their own free will. They forget that, first of all, these are people with positive and negative qualities characteristic of them, with their concerns and problems. In the presented situation, the subordinate does not feel necessary, he cannot feel himself a person to the full extent, especially when the authorities often show rudeness to him.
By the way, such an intolerant situation, one way or another, forms in the team such conditions, according to which rudeness and callousness is transferred to communication with colleagues and other people. It is important to say that in order to avoid this, management should constantly take care of each member of the team. So, sometimes he is only required to take an interest in the family problems of his subordinate; , , , ; . , – , . . , , .
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