"
CONSULAR
VOLUME 5 PART 2
3.5
3.5
3.5.1
3.5.2
3.5.3
LEGAL ADVICE AND INVOLVEMENT IN PRIVATE DISPUTES
Consular officers are not qualified to give legal advice, nor is it any part of the function of HMG to provide legal advice to private enquirers. Inaccurate legal advice has often caused serious difficulties. For these reasons, (the first two of which may be drawn to the enquirer's attention) officers should be careful to give no legal advice. Offer assistance in the following ways only:
(a)
(b)
(c)
Enquiries about local law should be referred to a lawyer practising locally (see para 3.5.2).
If the enquiry is about a foreign system of law other than the local law, officers should refer the enquirer to the representative of the appropriate country.
If the enquiry is about English law (or about any of the other systems of law in the United Kingdom or any British territory), the officer should advise the enquirer to have recourse to a person qualified to advise him, and should provide him with a list of such persons practising locally, where appropriate, or, if there is none, suggest that he obtain a list of lawyers from the Law Society in London (or the appropriate professional body in Scotland, etc). Any list provided by the officer should be subject to the disclaimer given in para 3.5.3.
Exceptionally, where advice is sought on a point of law with which the officer is well acquainted through his official work, and the point is one which does not give rise to great difficulties, he may advise the enquirer. He should explain that he is not a qualified lawyer (if that is the case) and that neither he nor HMG can accept responsibility for the advice he gives. A record should be kept of the occasions and the circumstances in which such advice is given.
Official requests for certificates or statements of English law: see Consular DSP Volume 3, Part 1.
Enquirers about local law should be given a list of the names, addresses and telephone numbers of some local lawyers, indicating (wherever possible) the branches of law in which they specialise and the languages in which they correspond. Complete impartiality must be exercised when handing out lists of lawyers; officers should not mention any particular lawyer. The list should contain more than one name, to give the enquirer some freedom of choice, but not give so many names that the enquirer has difficulty in selecting a suitable practitioner. Ten names should normally be a maximum (see para 3.5.3). If the enquirer decides to write to a lawyer requesting him to undertake the business, the officer may forward the letter. If the officer forwards the letter, he should tell the lawyer that he takes no responsibility for the enquiry, but is forwarding the letter in order to be helpful. The officer should drop out of the correspondence when the lawyer has accepted the client's instructions. Whenever an enquirer is advised to consult a lawyer, he should be told that the advice is given without responsibility.
The first name on the list should be that of the Post's honorary legal adviser (see DSP Consular Volume 3, Part 1). The list must conform to local rules of professional etiquette. Lawyers should be selected after confidential discussion with the honorary legal adviser or some person of local standing. The latter procedure may be followed when a lawyer outside the scope of the usual list is required. Posts should also keep lists giving the particulars of official translators, interpreters and others whose services may be required by people with legal and administrative problems, particularly at those Posts where English is not the sole official language. These lists should contain a disclaimer on the following lines:
"The list is provided by HM Consul at.
for the convenience of enquirers, but neither HMG nor any official of the consulate take any responsibility for the competence or probity of any firm/advocate on the list or for the consequence of any legal action initiated or advice given."
JANUARY 1990
3.2
Page 60Page 61