Undertaking the study of a profession, such as law, is not only aimed at knowing the content of the laws or various doctrines, but also requires that the professional training is oriented to the study and understanding of the ethical aspects involved in the performance of the lawyer in the exercise of the legal profession.
In order to ensure ethical practices in the practice of lawStates have invested great efforts in identifying and positivizing those conducts aimed at the practice of any profession in accordance with the moral standards of society.
The lawyer's performance
In law, these codes of ethics are vital and are the guarantors of justice.A lawyer whose actions are in accordance with ethical standards is a professional with the necessary judgment to achieve compliance with the law. In that sense, a lawyer must serve the interests of justice, as well as the rights and freedoms he has been entrusted to defend. That is why his job is not only to support his client's cause but also to be his advisor so that the client's particular case complies with the established legal and moral obligations.
Based on various normative instruments, such as the Code of Ethics of the European Union[1], which was adopted on October 28, 1988, as well as the Code of Ethics of Spain, which was adopted on October 28, 1988, as well as the Code of Ethics of the European Union[2], which was adopted on October 28, 1988, as well as the Code of Ethics of Spain, which was adopted on October 28, 1988.[2]The law practice, approved in October 2002, is summarized in the following principles:
Freedom and independence:
Under the scope of this principle, the legal counsel is not or should not be subject to pressures and interferences of any individual, Public Power, client or even jurisdictional bodies, especially those that may be detrimental to their interests. In view of this principle, it should be reiterated that the lawyer owes his duty to the law and justice, which is why any action that is intended to compromise his independence, has the duty-power to make such circumstance evident.
2.- Professional Secrecy:
Another of the principles that by its essence characterizes the practice of the profession in compliance with ethical rules, is professional secrecy, which is linked to the trust that develops between the attorney-client relationship, which is why all information that is under the domain of a lawyer in relation to a case, is confidential, which is why it must safeguard all the details of the case that is under his knowledge.
On the other hand, it should be added that due to the essential nature of this principle, the obligation of professional secrecy not only rests on the lawyer, but also extends to all those persons who may have contact with information on a case, including partners, employees, as well as collaborators.
However, this obligation is not absolute, taking into consideration that if the information is required by any court or entity in charge of the prevention of money laundering, the lawyer must cooperate in order to clarify any circumstance that may be detrimental to the legal system.
3.- Confidence and personal integrity:
Linked to the previous principle, the lawyer-client relationship must be based on trust, which is why the lawyer must have qualities such as honesty, loyalty, truthfulness and diligence. In order to carry out the provision of service in the most efficient and appropriate manner.
4.- Incompatibilities:
Incompatibilities are all those circumstances that make it impossible to practice the legal profession, either in certain cases or absolutely, because they are considered adverse to the rules of ethics, a common example is in those cases in which there is a conflict of interest, in which the lawyer must refrain from providing professional services to those persons who may be counterparts of a previous client.
5.- Advertising:
Regarding this principle, it should be mentioned that the legal professional may use the advertising media he/she considers appropriate, in order to make his/her professional services known, however, he/she must take into consideration that the information to be published is not disloyal or misleading. Among other factors, he must respect the aforementioned principles, i.e. not to disclose confidential information of his client portfolio, nor that which may compromise his independence.
Legal ethics in Venezuela
It should be noted that this particular topic has been discussed in greater depth in the past.[3]However, it is considered opportune to briefly reiterate the aspects of deontology from a venezuelan perspective and its link with the Spanish one.
While it is true that the laws of each State are based on their legal traditions, we must not forget that there are universal principles and values, such as the ethical rules in the practice of the legal profession, which are aimed at guaranteeing respect for the dignity, integrity and honesty that professional services should entail.
That is why, in Venezuela, as in Spain, the deontological rules are characterized by sharing the same essence, which is why the Code of Professional Ethics of the Lawyer, the Code of Ethics of the Lawyer, and the Code of Ethics of the Attorney, have the following characteristics[4]is linked to the deontological principles in the Spanish legislation, namely Article 2, which provides as follows:
"Article 2. The Lawyer shall have as a north of his acts to serve justice, to ensure freedom and the ministry of Law (...)".
From the foregoing, it has been evidenced that Venezuelan legislation, in turn, includes in its regulatory body those principles and values related to the practice of law, and for such purposes, they should not be limited to a certain territory, on the contrary, such values and principles, as mentioned above, are of universal character, whose transcendence has allowed their adoption in the legislations of the various States.
