Scholarly record
ADVOCATES IN THE CRITICAL EYES OF SOCIETY
Abstract
The origins of the history of advocacy in the particular countries of Europe may be put together based on all kinds of sources. Aside from the normative texts which, the closer we get to the modern era, the more often represent a required regulation in society which controls the access to providing advocacy services, numerous references about advocates may be found in literature. The laws, which were often very concise, may be, in many cases, confronted with the reports which reflect the social seriousness of the profession of advocates and which react to the real circumstances in the respective environment in which the advocates were associated and which openly criticize their work before the courts, representing the clients and in the public life in general. What were the roots of such a criticism of the profession of advocates and what was its real value? What function did the criticism play with respect to the advocates and to society from which it arose? The objective of our contribution is first to map the critical remarks against the advocates in the Czech lands. Next, we will try to analyze the extant sources and use them as a foundation for introducing two possible approaches to the criticism of the advocates in the Medieval period and the early modern era. The first approach understands the criticism as a reflection of the true reality of the profession of advocates. To this effect, society attacks the moral peccadillos of the advocates by means of literature and forces them to look at themselves in the critical mirror by means of which it forces the advocates from the outside to advance in the required direction. Therefore it may be understood as societyВґs checking on the advocates, and making sure that the normative and ethical rules that the advocates fail to observe are not only reminded via such criticism, but are also exceeded by a call that the then actual inauspicious state was improved. The other possible view looks on the criticism as something spurious and illegitimate. All those who stubbornly criticize the advocates may also be partially blamed for their bad behavior. In this case, society is in a position of a client who first bribes its advocate so that it could later criticize him. Do the advocates unintentionally become scapegoats that are criticized by society for such attributes that society itself has or do they really deserve such a harsh criticism?
Publication Impact Profile
Publication details
References15
Čáda, František (ed.). Czech Land Laws by the Highest Judge of the Bohemian Kingdom [Nejvyššího sudího království českého Ondřeje z Dubé Práva zemská česká], Czech Republic, pp 139-140, 1930.
Freeman, Michael (ed.). Law and Sociology, United Kingdom, 2006.
Hazard, Geoffrey C. Legal Ethics: A Comparative Study, USA, pp 60, 2004.
Hrdina, Ignác Antonín. Advocate – A Priest of Justice (According to Sporck´s Herkomannus to the sixtieth birthday of Karel Schelle). In Tribute to Karel Schelle´s sixtieth birthday [Advokát - kněz spravedlnosti? Podle Šporkova Herkomana Velikého k 60. narozeninám Karla Schelleho. In Pocta Karlu Schellemu k 60. narozeninám], Czech Republic, pp 343-348, 2012.
Chalupný, Emanuel. Advocate and Advocacy As a Legal and Moral Institution [Advokát a advokacie jako zřízení právní a sociální], Czech Republic, pp 52, 1922.
Jireček, Hermenegild-Jireček, Josef (eds.). Codex juris Bohemici, vol. III.3, Czech Republic, pp 69-70, 1874.
Jireček, Hermenegild-Jireček, Josef (eds.). Codex juris Bohemici, vol. IV.1.1., Czech Republic, pp 76-78, 1882.
Nohejl, Marek. Action, Discourse, Critique: Thinking Society [Jednání, diskurs, kritika: myslet společnost], Czech Republic, pp 214-220, 2007.
Obrdlík, Antoník. Profession and Public Good: Prestige of a Profession and Public Good in the Light of Social Approaches [Povolání a veřejné blaho: prestiž povolání a veřejné blaho ve světle sociálních postojů], Czech Republic, 1937.
Petrů, Eduard-Pražák, Emil (ed.). Mikuláš Dačický from Heslov. Truth. Memories [Mikuláš Dačický z Heslova Prostopravda. Paměti], Czech Republic, pp 95-97, 1955.
Pišna, Jan. Volume “Action and Disputes … “ of Michal Pečka from Radostice as a Tribute to Procurators. In Melior est aquisitio scientiae negotiatione argenti. Tribute to professor Ignác Antonín Hrdina to his sixtieth birthday [Dílo „Akcí a rozepře …“ Michala Pěčky z Radostic jako pocta prokurátorům. In Pocta Prof. Ignácovi Antonínovi Hrdinovi, O. Praem. k šedesátým narozeninám], Czech Republic, pp 215-223, 2013.
Porák, Jaroslav-Kašpar, Jaroslav (ed.). From the Old Czech Chronicles [Ze starých letopisů českých], Czech Republic, pp 417, 1980.
Přibáň, Jiří. Sociology of Law [Sociologie práva], Czech Republic, pp 15-18, 1996.
Štachová, Naďa. Tomáš Štítný and His Ethical Remark to Judges. In Days of Law 2013 [Tomáš Štítný a jeho etický odkaz soudcům. In Dny práva 2013], Czech Republic, pp 330-339, 2014.
Štachová, Naďa. Between Hope and Hopelessness: On the Beginnings of Professional Ethics in the Czech Lands, [Mezi nadějí a zoufalstvím: K počátkům profesní etiky v českých zemích], The Lawyer [Právník], Czech Republic, vol. 153/issue 5, pp 411-423, 2014.
View or Download full articleAccess options
SWS access login
Login as SWS Scientific CommitteeLogin as SWS Scientific PartnerLogin as SWS AuthorAuthors and approved SWS contributors will read and export their own linked papers after identity matching by SWS profile, email and SGEM GlobalID.
For librarian assistance: [email protected]
Purchase Instant Access
- Article can be downloaded after successful payment.
- Article may be used according to SWS library access terms.
- Article cannot be redistributed.
