SC launches new lawyer’s code of conduct, oath
THE Supreme Court (SC) yesterday formally launched the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) for lawyers and members of the legal community.
The CPRA was part of the high court’s efforts to update the 34-year-old code by crafting a modern, relevant, and responsive guide for lawyers’ conduct.
“Today, we proudly present to you the culmination of all our efforts and collective genius, the final draft of the CPRA–our so called Book of Life to govern lawyers with ethics and lawyers of conscience, ” SC Justice Amy C. Lazaro-Javier said in her speech.
“As co-authors of this Code, I believe we are one in interest to not let the new CPRA be nothing but a memento of ideals. From the beginning, the CPRA was set to revolutionize 34 years of status quo in the legal profession,” she added.
CPRA also revised the lawyer’s oath.
Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen introduced the new Oath of Lawyers, and led some 200 lawyers present during the launching in reciting the new oath.
For his part, Justice Samuel Gaerlan disclosed that more provisions were introduced to accurately reflect daily lives of lawyers and resolve challenges they face.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo says the CPRA is not just a revision from old to new but an overhaul focusing on core values.
The launching was organized by the SC in cooperation with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and the Philippine Association of Law Schools, with support from the European Union through the Governance in Justice Program II (GOJUST II) and the Australian Government through The Asia Foundation and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime.
The launching of the CPRA marks the end of the five-leg Ethics Caravan, a series of consultative discussions held in the cities of Cebu, Davao, Naga, Baguio, and Manila, which was organized by the SC Sub-Committee for the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
The Ethics Caravan was attended by over 2,000 legal practitioners nationwide from September 2022 to January 2023.
