Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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£eagle
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Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by £eagle »

In her Cyprus Star article of 5th July, Marion quoted Pembe Ibrahim as saying “unlike the UK, lawyers [in the TRNC] do not have a duty of care but their role is to follow the Law and its legal implications”. I have also heard lawyers here crowing that they cannot be sued as they owe no duty of care to their clients.

Can anyone tell me how this marvellous (for lawyers) state of affairs has come about?

It seems to me to be nonsense. The concept of “duty of care” arises under the law of Tort and indeed S51 of the Civil Wrongs Act imposes a specific duty of care on lawyers to exercise appropriate professional standards in their dealings with clients.

However, the relationship between an advocate and his client is principally governed by the laws of Contract. If one party does not perform his part of the contract properly then the other party can sue for compensation. A contract can be written or oral. The terms can be specifically set out or some terms may be implied from the circumstances.

I would guess that many property purchasers have little in writing about their contract with the lawyer. Accordingly the terms are likely to be pretty simple. “I, the client, will pay you, the advocate, a fee of £X for dealing with my purchase of property A for the price of £Y”.

If you have paid the fee but do not get the title the lawyer has broken his contract. You should then be entitled to compensation unless the lawyer can show good cause - such as advising you not to proceed with the purchase.

So, is the inviolability of lawyers just a urban myth put about by lawyers or is there some special law, just for them, which puts them above the law?

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by £eagle »

Minor correction. Whilst Marion's article is on a page in the Star dated 5th July it appears in the 12th July edition. Hmm.

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Marions
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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by Marions »

some very good points. It would be interesting for a lawyer to comment on this. I will pass on these cmments to MNCBM as they are very concerned about property matters and the future. I know that the whole aspect of property, the law, the lawyers etc has been something which has caused a lot of heartaches and questions for several years, and that there is a body of people who are working behind the scenes to try to move on.

As I say, I repeat only what I am told, not being a lawyer, and your very valid points deserve a response.

Thanks for raising them.
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Philoz
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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by Philoz »

Marions.
I suspect £eagle might be a lawyer-I might be wrong,but He/she seems to know their stuff.
Don't you think?

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by Marions »

as they say 'You could say that but I could not possibly comment!' Perhaps £eagle would like to 'confess' in his own defence, before being judged!
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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by Philoz »

Ahh - so it's a man then?
You obviously know-come on ,spill the beans!

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by Marions »

i wish I did. I don't - honestly. And maybe I should have written he/she! No idea , but just the name of Eagle makes one think of male - well it does me! so sorry, I cannot help. There are no beans to spill, other than by the person in question!
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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by muffin »

Interesting to read that "I the customer agree to pay you the lawyer the sum of" - then not receiving the title in the end. A very simple solution to this is not to pay the lawyer until the project in hand is properly completed i.e. the title delivered and sealed. Only then to my way of thinking has the lawyer completed his contract and not until then is he entitled to a single lira. I always say "never part with your money until you have the job completed to your full satisfaction"

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by ozankoys »

You are all forgetting the basic principle here - the law does not apply to Cypriots unless it suits them!

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by Marions »

One must always remember that this is Cyprus and this is Cypriot law and cannot be c ompared toanywhere else. those who live here obey the rules iof the country - even if one often thinks that 'the law is a ass'. so, yes, Ozankoy you are quite correct, but not everyone forgets the basic principles in operaton.
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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by tutor4u »

I wonder which "Lawyer" will be the first to offer a "Contract" of duties and obligation to the client using Cypriot law, IF this were to happen they would probably be overwhelmed with new business.. Bur I can dream on..

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by £eagle »

The problems of the property market have many causes. Amongst them are naivete, incompetence, greed, dishonesty and outright fraud on the part of some land owners, developers, estate agents and bankers. Buyers have been incautious or downright stupid too. Politicians have not really known what they were doing and seem to have little interest in protecting foreigners seen to be involved in a massive land grab.

For the normal, non-Turkish speaking layman the appointment of a lawyer to guide him through the strange and incomprehensible process of buying a property was clearly the most sensible thing to do. That is what lawyers are for; to guide and to protect their clients. They are the lynch pin of the whole system.

In a short space of time the lawyers of Girne, and elsewhere, made themselves into multimillionaires whilst leaving thousands, some say, of their clients in an incredible mess. Losses of several hundred million pounds on their disastrous property acquisitions have accumulated plus the agony and despair. New forms of problem created by lawyers continue to come out of the woodwork even now, which means that the total losses will be even greater.

Why are the lawyers not being sued for every last kuruç they own?

The laws of Cyprus, whilst not very modern, have always been adequate to protect buyers. However imperfect they may be, the laws of Cyprus do apply to everyone, including lawyers. If the law is an ass, it has been made one by those who have abused and manipulated it.

The laws of tort and contract apply to the dealings which lawyers have with their clients. If they get it wrong they should fully compensate their clients for the totality of their losses, not just a refund of fees!

This is why I posted my original question - is there a law which exempts lawyers from being sued for their incompetence?

If there is not, then the “big legal bazookas” mentioned by Marions should be aimed at the advocates whose pockets are now as deep as those of the banks?

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by dani »

Hi Eagle. In a previous post you invite email questions but don't show an address. I have a question related to purchasing property. If the offer still stands, how can you be contacted?

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by sophie »

Like Marion and others in this thread I have nothing to do with the law in the TRNC, but I would ask "if some Advocates in this country are to be held to account for their incompetence, greed and in some cases downright theft, who will take up a case against them? " I can think of no-one who would take on another Advocate. Its hard enought in a "normal" country, but here in an "abnormal" country I would suggest it an impossibility. Just my humble thoughts.

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Re: Marion’s musings - “lawyers do not have a duty of care”

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Post by Marions »

Indeed Sophie, I agree. There are honest lawyers who will help, but they will not act against their own kind.

To Dani, you have the facility of sending a private message or an e mail through this board. Look at the bottom of the posting, and you will see three very small boxes, one of which says 'pm' and the other 'email'. Click on those and you will be able to send a message as if sending to a known e mail address. Or private message. In both cases they will be sent through to the recipient's computer jus t like any other e mail. hope that helps.
Maid Marion of Malatya
'Plan as if you will live for ever, but live each day as if it is your last.'

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