Nepali Legal System · Chapter 8
Study notes aligned to the official NEB syllabus.
The legal profession is the organised body of trained lawyers (कानुन व्यवसायी). These lawyers advise clients, argue cases in court, draft legal documents and help run the justice system. The legal profession is one of the working parts of any legal system. It stands alongside the judges and the courts. In Nepal it is today a licensed, regulated profession. It has its own rules for entry and its own code of conduct. Consider a person accused of a crime under the Muluki Penal Code 2074. When he stands trial, a licensed advocate presents his defence. Without such a trained profession, the right to a fair hearing would be hard to realise.
In earlier times, Nepal had no organised legal profession in the modern sense. Disputes were settled under custom and the Dharmashastra (the old Hindu religious law texts). Parties were often represented informally by agents, not by qualified, licensed lawyers. A litigant might simply bring a knowledgeable relative or a local agent to speak for him.
A more organised profession grew only in the twentieth century. It grew as codified law, regular courts and formal legal education developed together. Lawyers began to join together for their common interests. They formed a professional umbrella body, the Nepal Bar Association, to represent them. The decisive step came with the Nepal Bar Council Act 1993 (2050 BS). This Act created the Nepal Bar Council as a statutory regulator (a body set up by law to control the profession). It introduced a licensing examination for entry. And it placed the profession under an enforceable code of conduct. After this Act, a law graduate could no longer simply start appearing in court. He first had to pass the Council's licensing examination and be enrolled. So the profession changed from an informal practice into a licensed and self-regulating one.
Nepali law recognises different categories of legal practitioner. The senior advocate (वरिष्ठ अधिवक्ता) is a senior honour granted to distinguished advocates. The advocate (अधिवक्ता) is a law graduate who has passed the licensing examination and may appear in the courts. The pleader (अभिवक्ता) is another category. The general term for all of them is legal practitioner (कानुन व्यवसायी). For example, a newly licensed law graduate practises as an advocate. A long-standing and distinguished advocate may be honoured with the rank of senior advocate.
The Nepal Bar Council is the official regulator of the legal profession. It was established under the Nepal Bar Council Act 1993 (2050 BS). It is the body that controls who may enter the profession. It also controls how its members must behave. Its main functions are clear. It regulates the legal profession. It conducts the advocate (bar) licensing examination, through which law graduates qualify to practise. It maintains the roll (the official list) of licensed legal practitioners. And it frames and enforces the professional code of conduct.
The Council can also take disciplinary action against a practitioner who breaks the rules. It can go as far as suspending or cancelling the licence to practise. This power is what gives the profession its discipline and public accountability. For example, suppose an advocate cheated a client or misled the court. The Council could investigate. If the charge were proved, it could suspend or cancel the licence. The Nepal Bar Council should not be confused with the Nepal Bar Association. The Association is the lawyers' own professional and representative body. It is not the statutory regulator.
A code of conduct (आचार संहिता) is the set of professional and ethical rules that every legal practitioner must follow. It is framed and enforced by the Nepal Bar Council under the 1993 Act. Its purpose is to keep the profession honest, disciplined and worthy of public trust. This matters because a lawyer handles other people's rights, liberty and property.
The duties it imposes fall into a few groups.
Toward the client, a lawyer owes loyalty, diligence and confidentiality. A lawyer must not cheat or mislead the person who has trusted them. For example, a lawyer must not reveal a client's confidential instructions. A lawyer must not act for the opposing side.
Toward the court, a lawyer owes respect and honesty. A lawyer must never mislead the court or help a false case. So a lawyer may not knowingly put forward fabricated (made-up) evidence.
Toward fellow lawyers and the profession, a lawyer must act with dignity, fairness and good faith. A lawyer must keep the standing of the profession high. A lawyer must avoid unfairly luring away clients or cheating colleagues.
Toward society, a lawyer is expected to uphold the rule of law. A lawyer should help provide access to justice. This includes legal aid for those who cannot pay.
A code of conduct is necessary because trust holds the whole system together. Without it, that trust would break down. If a lawyer breaks the code, the Council can take disciplinary action. This can go as far as loss of the licence to practise.
Let us draw the chapter together. The legal profession is one of the three working pillars of the justice system. It stands beside the courts and the law itself.
The historical development shows how it grew. It began with informal agents pleading under custom. It became a licensed, examined and self-regulating profession after the Nepal Bar Council Act 1993.
The Nepal Bar Council is the institution that guards the gate. It decides who may enter through its licensing examination. It keeps the roll of practitioners.
The code of conduct is the discipline that keeps those already inside honest and trustworthy.
Together these make the lawyer accountable rather than unchecked. This matters because a lawyer handles other people's liberty, rights and property. Consider an accused person facing trial under the Muluki Penal Code 2074. He must be able to trust the advocate defending him. He must trust that the advocate is competent, having passed the bar examination. He must also trust that the advocate is bound by duties of loyalty and confidentiality under the code. In this sense, the legal profession is not merely a way to earn a living. It is a public service. A disciplined, regulated bar is one of the conditions for fair trials. It is one of the conditions for enforcing rights under the Constitution of Nepal 2015. It is one of the conditions for the rule of law itself.