Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Lecture One
Morality is a differentiation of actions
between those that are right and wrong.
Etiquette is a code that governs social
behavior within a society, class or
group.
Ethics is the philosophy of moral
values.
Modern times philosophers have divided ethical
theories into 3 general subject areas:
1. Meta-Ethics: origin of ethical principles
2. Normative: how we arrive at moral standards i.e.
right or wrong conduct
3. Applied Ethics: examination of controversial issues
with tools of meta & normative ethics.
META-ETHICS: Ethical values are either ‘other worldly’
or ‘this worldly’ creations.
Issues arising in Meta-Ethics:
a)Egoism Vs Altruism
b)Emotion Vs Reason
c)Male Vs Female Morality
• It assists in availing legal representation to all in the society.
• It sets out the minimum duties of a legal practitioner. towards his
client, the court and to his counter parts in the profession.
• It spells out the minimum standards of practice. Enhances public
confidence in the legal profession.
• It builds loyalty between the advocate and his client.
• It gives the lawyer a guide line on how to act in cases of conflicts
of interest.
• It Assists in the protection of fundamental human interests like
life, liberty and property.
• It guides a lawyer on the best course of action when moral
issues are at stake.
• It promotes transparency and frankness between the client and
the advocate.
• It promotes integrity in the legal profession.
A profession as a vocation requiring advanced
education and training. According to Roscoe Pound he
defined profession as a group pursuing a learned art as
a common calling in the spirit of public service.
Characteristics of a profession:
Skill based on theoretical knowledge Self regulation
Professional association Public service
Testing of competence Exclusion
Institutional training High status and reward
Licensed practitioners Granting of legitimacy
Control of remuneration and advertising Work autonomy
Code of professional ethics and conduct
What is a contract ? A Social Contract is an ideology - that
a person’s moral and political obligations are dependent
upon a contractual agreement among them to form the
society in which they live.