AN APPRAISAL OF THE APPROPRIATE AUTHORITY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT FOR LEGAL PRACTITIONERS IN NIGERIA

Abstract

The legal profession is a noble which etiquettes are built on some rules guiding the conduct of its members. It settled that the rules are created by Statutes and some authorities are vested with powers to enforce any breach of those rules. However, what remains in dispute is the question of the appropriate authorities saddled with the responsibility of enforcing same and the modus operandi of doing so. While some legal practitioners, law teachers, and law students are of the view that only the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Committee (LPDC) can enforce any breach, others hold a contrary view. This paper examines the appropriate authorities with powers to enforce the rules and the modus operandi in doing so, some decisions and enactment for enforcing the rules, some decisions against the enforcement of the rules, the right of a client to challenge the appearance of a legal practitioner and the duty imposed on legal practitioners to report any act of professional misconduct, the responsibility of our courts in enforcing the rules and the need for a single viewpoint by the apex court on enforcing the rules. The paper finds that the LPA and the RPC do not confer on the regular courts with the powers to enforce RPC. It also finds that there were inconsistent decisions by our regular courts on enforcement of RPC. It is recommended that the LPA and the RPC be amended so as to confer on the regular courts with the powers to enforce the breach of professional conduct. It is recommended that there is the need for consistency of decisions of our regular courts on enforcement of RPC.