Your
Advocate
This
week your advocate is M. Moazzam Husain of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh.
His professional interests include civil law, criminal law and constitutional
law.
Q:
Many different questions peep into my mind about law, lawyers and legal
profession. I am a student and hope to study law in due course of time.
But before I finally decide my career I need to have clear idea about
legal profession, its nature, technicalities and future prospect. With
this idea in mind may I ask you at this moment some of my questions
that cross my mind:
1. Once a lawyer obtains licence to practice in the High Court Division
can he appear in the District level courts?
2. Is there any hierarchy in the legal profession? Is there any difference
between barristers and advocates?
3. Does higher degrees help one to become a good lawyer?
Hasibul Hussain. Shahebbazar, Rajshahi.
Your
Advocate: These are very common questions that dwell in the
mind of the lay people. Not to speak of you, that is a student planning
to study law I have come across many highly educated people not connected
with law and legal profession who are not clear about what actually
are the duty of a lawyer. Let me put it in the words of Robert Hezell,
Editor of and one of the contributors to "The Bar on Trial"
a book on the English Bar. He said- "Many members of the public
have no very clear idea of what barristers do." So this is not
the peculiarity in our country only. This is true of the lay people
everywhere. The profession and the area of activity are so technical
that people not connected with the justice administration system hardly
can afford to be free from question about them.
Thank you for your
questions about my profession which you also wish to take up as yours
in future. I really relish to answer those questions but unfortunately
in the short span of this column it is difficult adequately to address
them. I am just trying to address your queries with utmost brevity.
As to the first
question, the reply is, yes, a lawyer enrolled as an Advocate of the
High Court Division of the Supreme Court of Bangladesh is entitled to
appear in all the courts subordinate to the High Court Division.
To your second
question the reply is- there is no hierarchy in the legal profession
in the sense it is understood in the Govt. or other services. But there
are hierarchies in the profession recognised and respected by the members
of the Bench and the Bar. One generally has to start his career at the
Bar as an Advocate of the Judges' courts. Having finished at least two
years of practice at the district Bar he acquires eligibility to apply
for being enrolled as an Advocate of the High Court Division if he is
not otherwise disqualified. One who has completed at least five years
practice in the High Court Division can apply for being an advocate
of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and if he is found competent
on the basis of the recommendations of the judges of the High Court
Division he is allowed to practice in the Appellate Division. And finally
from among the Advocates of the Appellate Division some may be recognised
as 'Senior Advocate' on the basis of his standing at the Bar. So hierarchically
there are Advocate of the Judge Court, Advocate of the High Court Division
of the Supreme Court, Advocate of the Appellate Division of the Supreme
Court and the Senior Advocate of the Supreme Court. So far as the legal
status is concerned there is no difference between an Advocate and a
Barrister. The Barristers as well as the law graduates of Bangladesh
are required to appear before the Bangladesh Bar Council and go through
certain formalities to obtain license for practicing in any court in
Bangladesh. Once they are granted license they become Advocates. When
the Barristers appear in any court in Bangladesh they appear as Advocates
not as Barristers. But the term ' Barrister' meaning member of the British
Bar carries with it some kind of appeal to the lay clients and certainly
paves the way to success at the Bar.
In reply to your
third question I must say, higher degree like LL.M. Ph.D should be of
use in building up your professional career. If there is scope for higher
degree you must avail it. There is no alternative of knowledge and experience.
But career at the Bar is so saddled with peculiarities that one cannot
be sure of his success by virtue of higher degrees alone. It is merely
a means to an end. There need be harmonious interplay of many different
factors for a success at the Bar.
Corresponding
Law Desk
Please send your mails, queries, and opinions to: Law Desk,
The Daily Star 19 Karwan Bazar, Dhaka-1215;
telephone 8124944, 8124955, 8124966; fax 8125155, 8126154; email <dslawdesk@yahoo.co.uk>
