Polytechnic University of the Philippines

College of Law
Sta. Mesa, Manila

WRITTEN REPORT:
BASIC LEGAL ETHICS:
THE LAWYER AND THE COURTS

Salitrero, Eloisa
Alonzo, Eymarie Julia
Combate, Jhonpaul
Eden, Donato
Obligado, Avelardo
Piamonte, Ejay
Santiago, Mikaila
Sasis, Ma. Jonalyn
JD 1-4
I. The General Concept
The lawyer’s duty to the court is the primary consideration of his office. A Lawyer had sworn
through his oath that he will conduct himself to the best of his knowledge and discretion with all
good fidelity to the court as well to his clients. Being the primary officer of the court, his duties
therein is more significant than that of his client.

“…should there be a conflict between his duty to his client and that to the court, he
should resolve the conflict against the former and in favor of the latter, his primary
responsibility being to uphold the cause of justice.”1

A lawyer must not do any act involving disrespect to the Court simply because he owes the
court such duty. The following discussions on the Canons of the Code of Professional
Responsibility pertaining to the duty of the Lawyer to the Court shall expound this obligation
given to him.

II. CANON 10 - A LAWYER OWES CANDOR, FAIRNESS

AND GOOD FAITH TO THE COURT.
A lawyer’s failure to abide by this canon will eventually result to the suffering of administration of
justice. Acting in candidly shall help in the expeditious administration of justice. Courts are
entitled to expect only complete candor and honesty from the lawyers appearing and pleading
before them. A lawyer, on the other hand, has the fundamental duty to satisfy that expectation. 2
A lawyer’s conduct before the court should be characterized by truthfulness, frankness, candor
and fairness.3

Rule 10.01 - A lawyer shall not do any falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any
in Court; nor shall he mislead, or allow the Court to be misled by any artifice.

A lawyer has sworn through his oath that he will do no falsehood in court. Such promise shall
never yield to the needs of his client, no matter how demanding it is. It was already established
that his loyalty and priority shall be the court and not his client.

Rule 10.02 - A lawyer shall not knowingly misquote or misrepresent the contents
of a paper, the language or the argument of opposing counsel, or the text of a
decision or authority, or knowingly cite as law a provision already rendered
inoperative by repeal or amendment, or assert as a fact that which has not been
proved.

A Lawyer should always bear in mind that he is an officer in the temple of justice whose high
vocation is to correctly inform the court upon the law and the facts of the case and to aid it in
doing justice and arriving at correct conclusions. Knowingly misquoting the law shall cause the
impairment to the administration of justice. Thus, it will cause to serious derogation to his
primary duty.

Rule 10.03 - A lawyer shall observe the rules of procedure and shall not misuse
them to defeat the ends of justice.

1 Agpalo, Ruben E., Legal and Judicial Ethics

2 Chavez v. Viola, 196 SCRA 10
3 Albert v. Court of First Instance, 23 SCRA 948 (1968

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The rules of procedure are instruments for the speedy administration of justice. Misuse of such
may cause delay, the defeats of the ends of justice and thus, ultimately results to its obstruction
and degradation.

III. CANON 11 - A LAWYER SHALL OBSERVE AND

MAINTAIN THE RESPECT DUE TO THE COURTS AND TO
JUDICIAL OFFICERS AND SHOULD INSIST ON SIMILAR
CONDUCT BY OTHERS.
A lawyer should conduct himself toward judges with that courtesy all have a right to expect4 and
with the propriety which the dignity of the courts requires.5

Rule 11.01 - A lawyer shall appear in court properly attired.

Respect to the court must begin with the lawyer’s outward physical appearance in court. A
lawyer’s attire reflects on the lawyer and the dignity and solemnity of the court proceedings.

Rule 11.02 - A lawyer shall punctually appear at court hearings.

The lawyer’s responsibility to punctually appear in court is not only because of his client but also
for the court and the public. Habitual and inexcusable tardiness may adversely affect his client’
case. Also, a disciplinary action may be filed against him.

Rule 11.03 - A lawyer shall abstain from scandalous, offensive or menacing

language or behavior before the Courts.

A lawyer’s language should be forceful but dignified, emphatic but respectful as befitting an
advocate and in keeping with the dignity of the legal profession. 6 His words must be in keeping
with the honor of being an officer of justice.

Rule 11.04 - A lawyer shall not attribute to a Judge motives not supported by the
record or have no materiality to the case.

A judge may commit errors or mistakes in his decisions. He may, without realizing it, abuse his
discretion in the resolution of issues before him. They do not, however, justify a lawyer to
“attribute to a judge motives not supported by the record or have no materiality to the case.

Rule 11.05 - A lawyer shall submit grievances against a Judge to the proper
authorities only.

A lawyer may prefer charges against a judge only after proper circumspection and without the
use of disrespectful language and offensive personalities so as not to unduly burden the court in
the discharge of its functions.7

4 People v. Carillo, 77 Phil. 572 (1946)

5 Paragas v. Cruz, 14 SCRA 809
6 Surigao Mineral Reservation Board v. Cloribel, 31 SCRA 1
7 Agpalo, Ruben E. Legal and Judicial Ethics

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IV. CANON 12 - A LAWYER SHALL EXERT EVERY EFFORT
AND CONSIDER IT HIS DUTY TO ASSIST IN THE
SPEEDY AND EFFICIENT ADMINISTRATION OF
JUSTICE.
Like the court itself, he is an instrument to advance its ends — the speedy, efficient impartial,
correct, and inexpensive adjudication of cases and the prompt satisfaction of final judgments. A
lawyer should not only help attain these objectives but should likewise avoid any unethical or
improper practices that impede, obstruct or prevent their realization, charged as he is with the
primary task of assisting in the speedy and efficient administration of justice.8

Rule 12.01 - A lawyer shall not appear for trial unless he has adequately prepared
himself on the law and the facts of his case, the evidence he will adduce and the
order of its proferrence. He should also be ready with the original documents for
comparison with the copies.

For a lawyer to be able to help with the speedy and efficient administration of justice, he must
be prepared on the case he is representing. This does not only adhering to his responsibility to
the court but also with his client. Failure of the lawyer to prepare for his case may cause
prejudice to the welfare of his client’s issue.

Rule 12.02 - A lawyer shall not file multiple actions arising from the same cause.

Litigation must end and terminate sometime and somewhere, and it is essential to an effective
and efficient administration of justice that once a judgment has become final the winning party
be not, through subterfuge, and misuse of legal process, deprived of that verdict.9 This is in
support of the prohibition against forum shopping as provided for by the Section 5, Rule 7 of the
Rules of Court. Forum shopping is the improper practice of going from one court to another in
the hope of securing a favorable relief in one court which another court has denied or the filing
of repetitious suits or proceedings in different courts concerning substantially the same subject
matter. There is also forum shopping whenever, as a result of an adverse opinion in one forum,
a party seeks a favorable opinion in another forum, other than appeal or certiorari. Violation of
the prohibition leads to the dismissal of the case to the prejudice of the lawyer’s client.

Rule 12.03 - A lawyer shall not, after obtaining extensions of time to file pleadings,
memoranda or briefs, let the period lapse without submitting the same or offering an
explanation for his failure to do so.

Where a lawyer’s motion for extension of time to file a pleading, memorandum or brief has
remained unacted by the court, the least that is expected of him is to file it within the period
asked for. And if for some reason he failed to file the same within the period, he should
nonetheless file it with a motion for leave to admit the same, explaining therein the reasons for
the delay.

Rule 12.04 - A lawyer shall not unduly delay a case, impede the execution of a
judgment or misuse Court processes.

8 Ibid.
9 Likim Tho v. Sanchez, 82 Phil. 776

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The law makes it the lawyer’s duty to delay no man for money or malice as he had sworn when
he passed the bar examination. A lawyer who prostitutes judicial processes to secure for his
client what is not justly and validly due him or who appeals a decision manifestly for the purpose
of delay violates his oath and obstructs the administration of justice. 10 A lawyer should present to
the court “the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth” regardless of whether a case is
contested or not and that he should not hide behind a maze of technicalities to delay if not
defeat the recovery of what is justly due and demandable.

Rule 12.05 - A lawyer shall refrain from talking to his witness during a break or recess
in the trial, while the witness is still under examination.

The purpose of the rule is to avoid any suspicion that he is coaching the witness what to say
during the resumption of the examination.

Rule 12.06 - A lawyer shall not knowingly assist a witness to misrepresent himself or
to impersonate another.

he may interview witnesses in advance of trial or attend to their needs if they are poor and have
no adequate means of defraying their own expenses or are lukewarm to do so, the lawyer
should avoid any such action as may be misinterpreted as an attempt to influence the witness
what to say in court.

Rule 12.07 - A lawyer shall not abuse, browbeat or harass a witness nor needlessly
inconvenience him.

He should advance no fact prejudicial to their honor or reputation unless required by the justice
of the cause with which he is charged.11 He has no right to demand that his counsel abuse the
opposite party or indulge in offensive personalities. Improper speech is not excusable on the
ground that it is what the client would say if speaking in his own behalf.

Rule 12.08 - A lawyer shall avoid testifying in behalf of his client,

(a) on formal matters, such as the mailing, authentication or custody of an

instrument, and the like; or

(b) on substantial matters, in cases where his testimony is essential to the ends of
justice, in which event he must, during his testimony, entrust the trial of the case to
another counsel.

The function of a witness is to tell the facts as he recalls them in answer to questions. The
function of an advocate is that of a partisan. It is difficult to distinguish between the zeal of an
advocate and the fairness and impartiality of a disinterested witness. The lawyer will find it hard
to disassociate his relation to his client as an attorney and his relation to the party as a
witness.12

V. CANON 13 - A LAWYER SHALL RELY UPON THE

MERITS OF HIS CAUSE AND REFRAIN FROM ANY
IMPROPRIETY WHICH TENDS TO INFLUENCE, OR
10 Samar Mining Co., Inc. v. Armando, 24 SCRA 402
11 Surigao Mineral Reservation Board v. Cloribel, 31 SCRA 1
12 Jacobs v. Weissinger, 211 Mich. 47,178 NW 65

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 GIVES THE APPEARANCE OF INFLUENCING THE
COURT.
Lawyer should rely on merits of his case. Improper acts of a lawyer which give the appearance
of influencing the court to decide a case in a particular way lessen the confidence of the public
in the impartial administration of justice, and should be avoided.

Rule 13.01 - A lawyer shall not extend extraordinary attention or hospitality to, nor
seek opportunity for cultivating familiarity with Judges.

A lawyer should avoid marked attention and unusual hospitality to a judge, uncalled for by the
personal relations of the parties, just as a judge should not fraternizing with litigants or with the
lawyer, otherwise both lawyer and judge may be subjected disciplinary sanction and to
misconceptions of motives. The unusual attention and hospitality on the part of a lawyer to a
judge may subject both the judge and the lawyer to suspicion.

Rule 13.02 - A lawyer shall not make public statements in the media regarding a
pending case tending to arouse public opinion for or against a party.

The restriction does not prohibit issuance of statements by public officials charged with the duty
of prosecuting or defending actions in court

Rule 13.03 - A lawyer shall not brook or invite interference by another branch or
agency of the government in the normal course of judicial proceedings.

A lawyer who brooks or invites interference by another branch or agency of government in the
normal course of judicial proceedings endangers the independence of the judiciary.

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