Disciplinary liability for representing a client who abuses the law – a discussion in the context of a disciplinary case of an attorney-at-law, ref. no. OSD/KR 38/17 Cover Image

Odpowiedzialność dyscyplinarna za reprezentowanie klienta nadużywającego prawa – rozważania na tle sprawy dyscyplinarnej wobec radcy prawnego o sygn. OSD/KR 38/17
Disciplinary liability for representing a client who abuses the law – a discussion in the context of a disciplinary case of an attorney-at-law, ref. no. OSD/KR 38/17

Author(s): Bartosz Wilk
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Civil Law, Sociology of Law, Administrative Law
Published by: Wydawnictwo Naukowe Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego
Keywords: abuse of law; access to public information; attorney-at-law; disciplinary liability

Summary/Abstract: This study intends to discuss whether and under what circumstances representation of a client who abuses the law may become a basis for disciplinary liability. Both the reason and the broader background of this issue were provided by a ruling in which an attorney-at-law was found guilty of having acted as an attorney before voivodeship administrative courts throughout Poland in 241 cases initiated by complaints about the inactivity of the authorities in providing public information. It was alleged that the attorney-at-law was aware of the fact that the client had abused the right to submit freedom-of-information requests and that he also received remuneration on this account. First, an empirical study was conducted, consisting in the analysis of documents included in the files of the disciplinary case, which were made available for the purpose of this research. Secondly, the article presents a legal discussion on the basis of liability, culminating in an assessment of the analysed decision.

  • Issue Year: 2022
  • Issue No: 40 (4)
  • Page Range: 159-173
  • Page Count: 15
  • Language: Polish