Name Reg.

Number Signature
Ramba Christine 2022-01-08045
Asasira Louis 2022-01-08981
Tumwine Sharif 2022-01-08881
Babita Miriam Kaluya 2022-01-07927
Ojambo Geoffrey 2022-01-08324

According to Section 1 of the Advocates Act Cap 295 Laws of Uganda, , an advocate refers to any
person whose name has been duly entered upon the roll of advocates.

According to Prof. W. Bwengye, a profession is a vocation that requires specialized training and
whose members belong to a specific/particular body and are accountable to that body.

It must be noted that every profession has its own standards/code of behaviour. Most particularly,
the legal profession is governed by the Advocates Act Cap 295, The Law Society Act together with
the regulations made thereunder set up by the rules and regulatory bodies such as the Law Council
and the disciplinary committee of the Law Council.

Requirements for admission into the legal practice

Professions impose anti-competitive rules and barriers to entry in order to regulate the number of
people joining the profession after having been certified by some established body of the profession.

Daniel Bell in The Coming of Post-Industrial Society (1973) argues at page 374 that to be within the
profession means to be certified formally or informally by one`s peers or by some established body
with the profession.

Certification comes after either complying with the licensing procedures or by passing an entry
examination.

A good example of this is that currently to enter into law school in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, one
must first pass the pre-entry exams in Kenya School of Law, Law Development Centre and Dar-es-
Salam School of Law respectively.

It is argued that professions impose restrictions on entry in order to have few people joining the
profession. The implication of this position is that controlling the number of people joining the
profession helps to maintain professional standards. This is also because an overcrowded profession
will force professionals to offer inadequate services due to unnecessary competition.

In addition, entry restrictions ensure that only the qualified join the profession hence ensuring high
quality service delivery.

What is the structure of legal education in Uganda

One must have obtained the following;

 Diploma in laws for a period of 1-2 years

 Entry qualification – One principle pass and a subsidiary
 LLB Degree – 2 principle passes – 4 years
 Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at LDC 1 year
 LLM – 2 years
  PHD Minimum of 3 years.

The following are the duties of an advocate to a client, court, opposing counsel, society, prosecutor
and defence council.

Client
A client is defined under S.1 of Schedule 2 to the Advocates Act Cap 295 as any person whose
account an advocate holds or receives client`s money.

1. It is imperative that an advocate must not divulge any information obtained as a result of
acting on behalf of the client except of course where it becomes necessary in the conduct of
the affairs of the said or otherwise required by law.
The duty of confidentiality, however, is one that is not absolute for example consent by the
client,it does not extend to documents which form part of a fraudulent act or communications
which take place in order to obtain advice with the intention of carrying an [Link],
the duty of confidentiality applies to all staff employed by a lawyer.
This is provided for under Regulation 7 of the Advocates [Professional Conduct] Regulations
Cap 267 which provides for non disclosure of clients information.
2. He/She has a duty to act upon instructions of clients. Regulation 2 of the Advocates
[Professional Conduct] Regulations Cap 267 provides that no advocate shall act on behalf of
a litigant unless duly instructed.
In Mulenga Christopher vs Stanbic Bank1, Justice Madrama held that taking instructions by
an advocate is fundamentally an ethical question, a lawyer has no authority to act on behalf
of a person minus instructions.

3. Duty to respect a client. An advocate must respect a client, this is because the client is the
one who employs an advocate and therefore a client is an advocate`s boss. Even in
instances of pro bono, an advocate is ethically obligated to respect the client.

4. Duty to fully account for monies of a client. He should not use the money for his/her
personal benefit. This requirement is reiterated in Regulation 29 which demands for all
monies held in respect of the client in accordance with the Advocates Accounts Rules (First
Schedule to the Advocates Act). Regulation 8 of the Advocates[Professional
Conduct]Regulations Cap 267 also provides that an advocate shall not use money held on
behalf of a client either for the benefit of himself or herself or any other person.

5. An advocate is precluded from getting personally involved with the client’s case for
example, it is forbidden to appear as witness in a client`s matter while representing the
client.

6. An advocate must not use his/her relationship with the client for his/her personal
relationship. He/she is encouraged to disclose to the client, if there appears any personal
interest in the transaction being conducted on behalf of a client. In Re a Solicitor 2, two
solicitors accepted substantial legacies under the wills they had drafted without first
ensuring that their clients received independent advice. the Court of Appeal held that it is
1
HCMA No.200 of 2003
2
[1974] CA
 not enough, merely to advise the client to obtain such advice. A solicitor in this position
must insist that the client is independently advised and must decline to act if the client
refuses. The solicitors were struck off by the disciplinary committee of the Law Society.

7. Duty of an advocate to bill a client fairly. An advocate must bill the client fairly, he/she
should not base on a client’s economic status to bill the client highly. He/she is obligated to
bill the client [Link] is provided for under Regulation 28 0f the Advocates
[Professional Conduct]Regulations cap 267 which provides that where fees are not
specified, the advocate shall charge such fees as in the opinion of the disciplinary committee
are not excessive or extortionate.

8. Duty to communicate to clients. Regulation 2(2) of the Advocates (Professional Conduct)

Regulations Cap267 provides that, an advocate shall not unreasonably delay the carrying
out of instructions received from his/her clients and shall conduct business on behalf of
clients with due diligence, including answering of the correspondence dealing with the
affairs of his/her clients.

9. Avoiding representing in conflicts of interest. Regulation 9 of the Advocates (Professional

Conduct) Regulations restricts advocates from appearing before any court or tribunal which
the advocate has reason to believe that he/she will be required as a witness.

10. Representing clients in court. It is a duty of a lawyer to represent his/her client in both civil
and criminal proceedings. Article 28(d) of the Constitution requires a person charged with a
criminal offence to appear before the court in person or by a lawyer. Thus in Lobo vs Saleh
Salim and others, it was stated that “……an advocate who appears for a client in a contested
case is retained to advance or defend his client`s case as an officer of the court.

11. Providing legal advice to clients. This advice has to be in position to help the client regarding
the legal issue at hand. Thus, in Kirima Estates (U) vs K.G Korde, where the advocate gave
his client wrong advice about his financial standing and led to losses after lending money,
court held that, the defendant had broken his duty to offer advice to the plaintiff as to the
financial standing.

12. The contract of a client – advocate is one based on trust and as such the advocate ought to
keep the affairs of the client confidential.

The duty of confidentiality, however, is not absolute for example consent by the client to
disclose lifts the duty of secrecy and also if there is the public interest aspect in the matter of
confidentiality that an advocate has obligation to disclose if the balance of the interest
favour disclosure. It also does not extend to documents which form part of a criminal or
fraudulent act or communications which take place in order to obtain advice with the
intention of carrying out an offence.

The duty of confidentiality applies to all staff employed by a lawyer. It applies to any
communications between a lawyer and a client, a lawyer and an agent or a lawyer and a
third party.
 In Perry Jones Vs Law Society3, it was held that the duty of confidentiality falls on the
advocate due to the position of trust that he occupies. A client comes and pours out all the
secrets (trade secrets) because they believe that he will use the information gathered to his
benefit rather than detriment. This is given so as to protect the client’s interests.

13. An advocate owes the duty of diligence to his client. Diligence imports a good knowledge of
the law. He/she must take all the reasonable steps to ensure that the client’s best interests
are taken care of.

In Donovan Vs Gwentoys4, the solicitor failed to act in time for a client who had a negligence
claim. Lord Griffith set out the history of the case and said that it would be very difficult to
acquit the claimant’s solicitor of professional negligence. They must have known the date of
the accident and the claimant’s age but failed to act within the limitation period.

Duty to the Court

Lord Denning in Rondell Vs Worsely5, said an advocate must accept the brief and do all he honorably
can on behalf of his/her client. He not only has duty to his client but also a duty to the court which is
paramount. He further stated that it is a mistake to support that an advocate is the mouthpiece of
the court to say what he wants or his tool to do what he directs. He is one of these things. He owes
allegiance to the higher cause of truth and justice.

14. Every advocate and every person entitled to act as an advocate shall be an officer of the
court pursuant to Section 22 of the Advocates Act Cap 295. It has been stated that every
advocate and every person otherwise entitled to act as an advocate shall be an officer of the
High Court and shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the High Court and subject to the
jurisdiction of the Disciplinary Committee. An officer of the court entails observance of
etiquette and conduct which require candour, fairness, courtesy and respect. An advocate,
for example, should not disrespect the court in any way or may be purged for criminal
contempt.
In Republic vs Maathai and 2 Others6, the High Court when examining the scope of criminal
contempt held that any act done or writing published which is calculated to bring a court or
judge into contempt or to lower his authority or to interfere with the due course of justice
or lawful process of court is contempt of court.

15. An advocate should also appear in court in all contentious matters either personally or on
his/her behalf when acting for a client. It is unprofessional not to appear in court when
required to do [Link] is provided for under Regulation 5 0f the Advocates [Professional
Conduct]Regulations Cap 267 which provides that every advocate shall in all contentious
matters, either appear in court personally on his/her behalf or on behalf of his/her client.

16. Advocates must not include in an affidavit any matter which they have reason to believe is
false. In Van Der Berg vs The General Council of the Bar7, the Supreme Court of Appeal of
South Africa were tasked with deciding whether an advocate was in breach of his duty to
the court when, despite knowing from his investigations that his client’s assertions were

3
[1969] 1 Ch 1
4
[1990] 1 WLR 472
5
[1966] 3 WLR 950
6
[1988] KLR P42
7
[2007] SCA 16 (RSA)
 false, he drafted affidavits to be sworn by the client maintaining the assertion. He was
struck [Link] is provided for under Regulation 15 which provides that an advocate shall not
include in any affidavit any matter which he or she knows or has reason to believe is false.

17. An advocate should inform court about the discovery of false depositions in an affidavit if it
is sworn by his/her [Link] is provided for under Regulation 16 which provides that if any
advocate becomes aware that any person has, before the court, sworn a false affidavit or
given false evidence, he/she shall inform the court of his or her discovery.

18. An advocate has a duty to advise the court on matters within his/her special knowledge. The
advocate is not allowed to mislead court by remaining silent on matters within his/her
knowledge which if made known to the court would affect its proceedings, decisions or
judgement. If an irregularity comes to the knowledge of an advocate during or after hearing
of a case but before verdict has been handed down, it is his/her duty to inform court of such
irregularity without [Link] is provided for under Regulation 17which provides that an
advocate conducting a case shall not remain silent about a matter within his or her
knowledge which a reasonable person would would realize if made to court, would affect its
proceedings or judgement.

19. An advocate has a duty of candour and honesty and not to mislead court. In Capeland vs
Smith8, neither barrister drew the court`s attention to a decision that was in the weekly law
report. It was held that it is the duty of an advocate to draw the court’s attention to a
decision or authorities which are in point even if they were adverse to the advocate’s case.
The barristers did not discharge their duty properly to the court. He/she should not coach
clients[Regulation] 18

Duty to opposing counsel

20. An advocate has a duty not to negotiate directly with the opposing party. He/she shall not in
any way communicate or negotiate or call for settlement upon the subject matter of
controversy with any party represented by an advocate except through the advocate
representing the parties.

21. He/she has a duty to carryout legitimate promises made. He/she shall do his best to
carryout all legitimate promises made to the opposite party even though not reduced to
writing or enforceable under the rules of the court.

22. Concerning communication, lawyers should behave professionally, diligently and

courteously. They must refrain from using abusive or threatening language.

23. The discovery process. This is a pretrial procedure in litigation where both parties exchange
relevant information and evidence related to the [Link] process ensures transparency,
prevents surprises at trial and allows both parties to prepare their arguments based on the
available facts.

8
[2000] 1 ALLER 457
 24. In the course of representing their clients, advocates should not be blinded by the desire to
achieve success for their client. They should act respectfully and avoid use of underhand
methods to win a case such as withholding critical information, misleading and intimidating
witnesses and refusing to serve court document to the opposing party.

Duty to the Society

In Uganda, advocates hold a pivotal role in upholding justice and serving the community.
Their duties to society are enshrined in various legal instruments and have been interpreted
through case law. below is an overview of these responsibilities, supported by Ugandan legal
authorities and case references.

25. Upholding the rule of law’

Advocated are entrusted with the duty to uphold and protect the rule of law, ensuring that
justice is administered fairly and impartially.
The Advocates Act under Section 16 designates advocates as officers of the High Court,
emphasizing their role in supporting the legal system
In Byenkya vs Fang Min (2002), the court highlighted that an advocate’s duty to their client
is subject to their duty to the court, underscoring the importance of maintaining the
integrity of the legal process.

26. Promoting access to justice

Advocates should facilitate access to legal services, especially for marginalised and
underprivileged members of the society.
The Uganda Law Society Act under Section 3(d) mandates the Law Society to protect and
assist the public in all matters touching, ancillary, or incidental to the law.

27. Engage in public legal education

Educating the public about their rights and the justice system fosters trust and confidence in
legal institution.
Section 3(e) of the Law Society Act encourages the Law Society to assist the government
and the courts in all matters affecting legislation and the administration and practice of law
in Uganda.

28. Maintaining professional integrity

Advocates must conduct themselves with integrity, ensuring that their actions do not bring
the legal profession into disrepute.
Regulation 2(1) of the Advocates (professional Conduct) Regulations prohibits advocates
from acting for any person unless they have been duly instructed, emphasizing the
importance of proper authorization and ethical conduct.

29. Contributing to law reform.

Advocates have a role in suggesting and supporting reforms that improve the justice system
or address societal issues.
Section 3 of the Uganda Law Society Act empowers the Law Society to assist the
government and the courts in all matters affecting legislation and the administration and
practice of law in Uganda.
By adhering to these duties, advocates in Uganda not only serve their clients but also
contribute significantly to the betterment of society and the strengthening of the legal
system.

Advocates duties as a prosecutor

Prosecutor shall immediately investigate when he/she is aware of the law-offending case
through complaint, reporting, surrender of the suspect or [Link] is provided for
under Article 228 of the Criminal Procedure Code [Link] prosecution , non-indictment or
transfer of the case shall be made after investigation.
A public prosecutor shall prepare public indictment against the suspects after investigation
and forward the case to the court for trial. Implementation on pleas of the crown; in every
case the prosecutor must participate in cross- examination and justification on the court
during judicial process.

A prosecutor shall act as a prosecutor on behalf of the state against criminal offenders.
He/she shall present at the court during the trial and state the main points of the indictment
after the accused is interrogated by the [Link] shall appeal to the higher court if he
considers the court decision so unjustifiable to the affect eventual justice.

Assisting in private prosecution. A criminal suit directly filed by a victim is called private
prosecution. According to Criminal Procedure Code, a victim may file a lawsuit with the
court. It may also be filed by legal representative , lineal relative or spouse of the victim if he
is incapacitated, prohibited or [Link] prosecutor shall state the facts or his opinion at the
trial on the date announced by the court if he believes it is important for the interest of the
state and society.

Duty of the defence counsel

The defence counsel is responsible for representing and protecting the legal rights of the
defendant in a criminal and civil matters.

Duty of legal representation and [Link]/she defends the accused against criminal and
civil charges and ensures that the defendants rights are upheld throughout the legal
[Link]/she cross-exams witnesses and presents evidence.

He/she has the duty to provide confidential legal advice. This means that he should explain
the legal process, potential consequences and available defense [Link] should advise
the client on whether to plead guilty,accept a plea deal or proceed to trial.

Ensuring due process and fair [Link]/She should object to the unfair questioning, improper
evidence or legal violations and ensure that the prosecution meets its burden of proof
beyond reasonable doubt.

A defence counsel has a duty to file appeals if legal errors affected the trials [Link]
should seek sentence reductions, parole or post-conviction relief when applicable.

He/she has a duty of confidentiality to his/her client.

In conclusion, this observation neatly brings analysis of the role of an advocates work full
circle. This work is not resting only on his personal profit making but how effectively an
advocate can serve the [Link] the various duties of an advocate owes to have
been looked at as discussed above.