2017-07-17

Gaza

Gaza

The Honorable Chairman and Members of the Bar Council,

Subject: violating the code of ethics of the legal profession

MUSAWA – The Palestinian Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and the Legal Profession extend their greetings to you, noting that we have received a complaint on 11/07/2017 from the citizen Zuzu Mohammad Ahmad Al-Sultan, stating that following a dispute with her divorcee (ex-husband) she initiated proceedings against him concerning “the validation of a contract for the sale of a property” in Gaza’s Court of First Instance, lawsuit no. 790/2015, knowing that she hired lawyer ……... to represent her in the aforementioned case.

In her complaint, she added: after hiring the lawyer officially and paying a part of his fees, a received sum of 500 JOD as evident in the attachment, the lawyer testified in the aforementioned lawsuit while he is still a representative of the complainant and without getting a prior permission from her to testify.

The complainant also confirmed that the lawyer asked her to hire his colleague, Adv. ………., to appear in court as the complainant’s representative in the lawsuit mentioned above. The complainant added that she had felt severe manipulation and negligence by both lawyers in her case, as she did not receive the usual care she is supposed to have from her lawyer to prove that she has a right to the land in question.

As an independent and non-governmental watchdog organization that respects the legal profession and appreciates the role a lawyer plays in order to achieve justice, MUSAWA believes that the facts of the complaint, if true, entail a violation of the litigants’ right to defense as well as other rights guaranteed by the Basic Law, which we believe may involve violations of the rules and code of ethics governing the legal profession.

According to paragraph 4 of Article (28) of the Bar Association Law, it is absolutely prohibited for a lawyer to testify in a lawsuit in which he is a representative, as this is an infringement of the lawyer-client confidentiality and a violation of professional integrity.

In adherence to paragraph 1 of Article (76) of the Law of Evidence, “it is prohibited for lawyers, agents, doctors or others to divulge any facts or information they learn through their practice or profession, even after their service or capacity ends”. This law ensures that the requirements for professional honesty are met and the litigants’ right to defense is fulfilled.

Accordingly, we kindly ask your Excellency to act upon our memo by taking the appropriate legal action, so as to ensure the proper administration of justice and guarantee the right to defense for litigants, and in adherence to the rules of ethics and code of conduct of the legal profession.

With all due respect,

Issued on 17/07/2017

Chairman of MUSAWA’s Board of Directors
Adv. Yasser Jabr

Attachments:
A copy of the complaint lodged by the citizen Zuzu Al-Sultan.