Abstract

SELEME, Hugo Omar. The impact of the republican notion of freedom on the lawyer's role. Ius Humani [online]. 2020, vol.9, n.1, pp.179-208. ISSN 1390-7794.  https://doi.org/10.31207/ih.v9i1.205.

The objective of this paper is to analyze the characteristics the lawyer’s role acquires once the republican conception of freedom as non-domination is adopted. Two methods are used, conceptual analysis and reflective equilibrium. Section II shows how the dominant conception of lawyer’s role is based on an alternative idea of freedom as non-interference. In section III, the criticisms that Republicans have directed to this conception of freedom are presented. Finally, the new features the lawyer’s role adopts once this defective conception of freedom is replaced are listed and explained. First, the tension between the character of the lawyer as an auxiliary to justice and as a defender of the client's freedom disappears. Second, the lawyer ceases to be a mere technical assistant and becomes the first barrier that prevents the client from becoming a dominating agent. Third, the adversarial system becomes an instrument to disperse control between the parties, preventing one from dominating the other. Fourth, the self-regulation of the profession becomes a mechanism to avoid horizontal and vertical domination.

Keywords : Freedom as Non-Domination; Freedom as Non-Interference; Legal Ethics; Zealous Defense; Conflictive Responsibilities.

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