The word mystery has a wide meaning and is used in many areas of human activity. The general meaning is that which is hidden and unknown, that is deliberately concealed. In the criminal law sense, a secret is understood as something kept, as something that cannot be divulged. Lawyer secrecy is information that is known only to a few people, as a rule, to the lawyer himself and to the person on whose defense he stands.
The concept
The concept of advocate secrecy assumes that access to information is limited to a certain circle of people. Moreover, the disclosure leads to the loss of a license or status. Under this term in the legislation it is accepted to understand a number of definitions which mean:
- lawyer's secret is information that is directly related to the provision of legal assistance to the principal;
- a lawyer does not have the right to divulge a secret, therefore, he cannot be summoned as a witness for interrogation, since all information related to the provision of assistance is secret;
- interrogation or any other search actions may be undertaken in the direction of a lawyer only if the court requires it and has a definite basis for such a decision.
It is important to always remain competent in relation to someone else's secret, because compliance with such a simple rule will lead to higher status and professionalism, as well as cause greater trust on the part of future customers.
The subject of advocate secrecy is
What is it?
- The subject is the fact of asking for help from the principal, as well as the content of the assistance provided to him.
- Also, the subject refers to any information relating to the personal, intimate or everyday life of the principal. In this case, disclosure of advocate secrecy is possible only with the permission of the principal.
- Various documents or records of the principal in the form of written, video or audio, as well as information stored on electronic media.
- Any information that is provided to a lawyer during court hearings, except for information contained in judicial acts, as they can be publicly announced.
- Information related to the participation of the principal in all kinds of associations like religious, social or professional.
- Other information that is not permitted for distribution, because such information constituting a lawyer's secret, in case of disclosure will be considered a violation of the secret.
All evidence obtained during the search activities can be disclosed only if they do not relate to information that the lawyer must hide.
Responsibilities
In accordance with existing law, a lawyer does not have the right to disclose information received from a principal. All information, the lawyer's confidentiality constituents, should be carefully hidden and published only in cases where the principal approves it. Any circumstances almost do not play a role.
A lawyer must take into account the views of the person protected by him, which are aimed at maintaining secrecy between them. Information may be of any nature, but a conscientious lawyer cannot disclose it in any case.
The defender cannot talk about the intricacies and components of the crime or about the private life of the principal. One of the parts of the lawyer's secrecy is also the payment of services, and the reason why the lawyer can refuse the case.
The disclosure of information by either side is a complete disregard for human rights and freedoms, responsibility for this will be on the conscience of one of the participants.
Effects
The lawyer's secret is all information received from the principal, which he does not want to distribute. If the defense attorney violates the silence order, this will be regarded as a flagrant violation, which will doom the attorney to a loss of status in the eyes of others. Also, this will indicate the absence of any professionalism.
A lawyer cannot share information even with his colleagues, because he is obliged to keep this secret at any possible development of events. It does not matter whether the case ended, how it ended, even the death of the principal is not a permission to disseminate information. A lawyer can place all files under the heading "Secret."
Precautionary measures
If the principal is not right, it may pose a potential threat, the lawyer, by virtue of his attitude to the case, also cannot tell about this in court. In this case, it is better to influence the client himself through conversations, beliefs that will show him wrong and help to prevent possible consequences.
Until now, one of the difficult questions remains: what to do if the principal told that he is going to commit an extremely dangerous act. Most of the lawyers in such cases insist on neglecting the rule and revealing the secret, since default can lead to a terrifying result. In this case, the lawyer's secret is something that can sometimes be revealed? This is sometimes permissible, if in another way it is impossible to stop the bloodshed, if the principal is thinking about theft or fraud, then this act is not so serious. A competent lawyer should ideally keep such โsecretsโ.
The responsibility for disclosure lies with the conscience of the defender. The law does not provide for criminal or administrative penalties. Only disciplinary liability can be assigned by the council of the bar (warning, termination of the status of a lawyer, etc.).
Assessment of attitudes to advocate secrecy
The main thing in the relationship between the defender and the client is trust in everything. The lawyerโs desire to do business, as well as to keep available information secret, depends on this factor.
To date, many studies and analyzes show disappointing results. The justice system does not take fully into account the lawyer's secrets, therefore, it is often violated through various events through it, information is disseminated and disclosed. This fact makes attorneys not properly treated, they do not want to disclose all the information. Itโs not a fact that this will not bring an extra term in places of deprivation of liberty.
The law clearly defines all the concepts and regimes ensuring the lawyer's confidentiality, and also describes all the possible activities of a lawyer, in which disclosure is impossible.
There are many defenders who brilliantly carry out their duties, they have good characteristics, but, accordingly, a rather big fee. Therefore, when choosing a lawyer, it is necessary to look for a person with a rather large number of successfully completed cases, with good characteristics, so that he can ensure complete impartiality.
How to find a bona fide lawyer?
To find a qualified defender, it is necessary to study all the cases in which the person participated. His views on life are also important if he respects and respects the rights and obligations of a person, legal entity, and others, in which case he is unlikely to encroach on the privacy of the principal.