Rule 32 Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners
Rule 32 of the Rules of Professional Conduct for Legal Practitioners (RPC) 2023 is about Candid and fair dealing. It is under Part IV (Relations with the court) of Chapter 1 (Conduct) of the Rules. It provides as follows:
(1) In appearing in his professional capacity before a court or tribunal, a lawyer shall not deal with the court otherwise than candidly and fairly.
(2) In presenting a matter to a court, a lawyer shall disclose —
(a) any legal authority in the jurisdiction known to him to be directly adverse to the position of his client and which is not disclosed by the opposing lawyer ; and
(b) the identities of the clients he represents and of the persons who employed him unless such disclosure is privileged or irrelevant.
(3) In appearing in his professional capacity before a court or tribunal, a lawyer shall not —
(a) state or allude to any matter that he has no reasonable basis to believe is relevant to the case or that will not be supported by admissible evidence ;
(b) ask any question that he has no reasonable basis to believe is relevant to the case and that is intended to degrade a witness or other person ;
(c) assert his personal knowledge of the facts in issue, except when testifying as a witness, OF assert his personal opinion as to the justness of a cause, credibility of a witness, culpability ofa civil litigant or guilt or innocence
of an accused, but he may argue, on his analysis of the evidence, for any position or conclusion with respect to the matters stated herein ;
(d) fail to comply with known local customs of courtesy or practice of the Bar or of a particular tribunal ;
(e) intentionally or habitually violate any established rule of procedure or of evidence ;
(f) knowingly misquote the content of a paper, the testimony of a witness, the language of the argument of the opposing counsel, or the language of a decision or a textbook ;
(g) with knowledge of its invalidity, cite as authority a decision that has been overruled, or a statute that has been repealed with intent to mislead the court or tribunal ;
(h) in argument, assert as a fact that which has not been proved, or in those jurisdictions where a side has the opening and closing argument, to mislead his opponent by concealing or withholding in his opening argument, positions upon which his side intends to rely ;
(i) produce evidence which he knows the court should reject ;
(j) promote a case which to his knowledge is false, or
(k) in any other way do or perform any act which may amount to an abuse of court process, or which ‘s dishonourable and unworthy of an officer of the law charged, as the lawyer. with the duty of aiding in the administration of justice.
