MP930K Professional Ethics of Lawyers

Faculty of Law
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
doc. JUDr. Martin Hapla, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
JUDr. Bc. Markéta Štěpáníková, Ph.D. (seminar tutor)
Jana Vlčková (assistant)
Guaranteed by
doc. JUDr. Martin Hapla, Ph.D.
Department of Legal Theory – Faculty of Law
Contact Person: Tereza Buchalová
Supplier department: Department of Legal Theory – Faculty of Law
Prerequisites (in Czech)
! NOWANY ( MP903K Moral Reasoning , MP909K Complex Cases )
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.

The capacity limit for the course is 142 student(s).
Current registration and enrolment status: enrolled: 0/142, only registered: 0/142
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
  • Law (programme PrF, PR_)
  • Law (programme PrF, M-PPV)
Course objectives
The aim of the course is to familiarize students with the basic knowledge of legal ethics, to familiarize them with the legal regulation of disciplinary liability of selected legal professions, to strengthen their sensitivity to ethically problematic situations that lawyers may encounter in their professional activities, as well as to develop their argumentation skills.
Learning outcomes
Upon completion of the course, the student will be able to: - summarize and describe the main rules and principles of legal ethics; - describe the basics of legal regulation of disciplinary liability of selected legal professions; - identify problematic situations from the ethical point of view that lawyers encounter in their practice; - apply the theoretical knowledge of legal ethics to specific situations and propose solutions in concrete cases and de lege ferenda; - to defend their own opinions, attitudes and solutions to specific cases in discussions.
Syllabus
  • Lectures: 1) Introduction to ethics and legal professions; 2) Legal ethics; 3) "Immoral" lawyers: how to morally justify controversial disciplinary decisions; 4) Judicial ethics; 5) Legal moralism in judicial ethics: when and how to discipline judges; 6) Prosecutorial ethics. Seminars: 1) Moral and legal framework of the profession of lawyer; 2) Relationship of the lawyer to the client: selection of the client and representation, confidentiality; 3) Remuneration of the lawyer, pro bono services, her relationship with other lawyers and the public; 4) The profession of judge, its institutional anchorage and moral dimension; 5) Public speeches of the judge, judges and the media; 6) Discussion of colloquial papers.
Literature
    required literature
  • HAPLA, Martin. FRIEDEL, Tomáš a kol. Profesní etika právníků. Brno: Nugis Finem Publishing, 2022, 335 s. ISBN 978-80-7614-007-3.
    recommended literature
  • WENDEL, W. Bradley. Ethics and Law. An Introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2014
  • KOBER, Jan. Právnická etika jako součást univerzitního kurikula i školení k výkonu advokátní profese. Praha: Pro bono aliance, 2016
  • SOBEK, Tomáš a KOLEKTIV. Právní etika. Praha: Leges, 2019
  • SVEJKOVSKÝ, Jaroslav, Alena MACKOVÁ and Martin VYCHOPEŇ. Advokátní právo. Edited by Vladimír Jirousek. Vydání první. V Praze: C.H. Beck, 2017, xxvii, 330. ISBN 9788074006593. info
  • MOLITERNO, James E. and Paul Douglas PATON. Globální problémy profesní etiky právníků. Translated by Martin Kopa - Maxim Tomoszek - Vítězslav Dohnal. 1. české vydání. Praha: Wolters Kluwer, 2017, xxiv, 185. ISBN 9788075528384. info
  • KOSAŘ, David and Tereza PAPOUŠKOVÁ. Kárná odpovědnost soudce v přerodu: Ponaučení z České republiky (Judicial Discipline in Transition: Lessons from the Czech Republic). Praha: Wolters Kluwer, 2017, 100 pp. Právní monografie. ISBN 978-80-7552-816-2. URL info
  • LUBAN, David. Legal ethics and human dignity. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007, xii, 337. ISBN 9780521118248. info
Teaching methods
The teaching takes the form of a guided discussion of legal and moral dilemmas in the field of legal ethics.
Assessment methods
The course is concluded with a colloquium, which consists in the elaboration of an argumentation to a disciplinary decision (NSS, ČAK).
Language of instruction
Czech
Further Comments
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every other week.
Listed among pre-requisites of other courses
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2020, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Autumn 2024, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/law/autumn2024/MP930K