Section 34 of Advocates Act CAP 16: Unqualified person not to prepare certain documents or instruments
(1) No unqualified person shall, either directly or indirectly, take instructions or draw or prepare any document or instrument— (a) relating to the conveyancing of property; or
(b) for, or in relation to, the formation of any limited liability company, whether private or public; or
(c) for, or in relation to, an agreement of partnership or the dissolution thereof; or
(d) for the purpose of filing or opposing a grant of probate or letters of administration; or
(e) for which a fee is prescribed by any order made by the Chief Justice under section 44; or
(f) relating to any other legal proceedings;
nor shall any such person accept or receive, directly or indirectly, any fee, gain or reward for the taking of any such instruction or for the drawing or preparation of any such document or instrument:
Provided that this subsection shall not apply to—
(i) any public officer drawing or preparing documents or instruments in the course of his duty; or
(ii) any person employed by an advocate and acting within the scope of that employment; or
(iii) any person employed merely to engross any document or instrument.
(2) Any money received by an unqualified person in contravention of this section may be recovered by the person by whom the same was paid as a civil debt recoverable summarily.
(3) Any person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence.
(4) This section shall not apply to—
(a) a will or other testamentary instrument; or
(b) a transfer of stock or shares containing no trust or limitation thereof.
Enhance Your Research with Bookmarks and Annotations
Here's how you can use these features:
- To bookmark this page, click the "Bookmark this Page" button below the document title.
- To add an annotation, highlight text in the document and select "Add Annotation" from the toolbar that appears.
- These features are great for organizing your research and keeping track of key information.
- You can view and manage your bookmarks and annotations on your Bookmarks and Annotations page.
- Section 35 - Instruments to be endorsed with name and address of drawer
(1) Every person who draws or prepares, or causes to be drawn or prepared, any document or instrument referred to in section 34 (1) shall at the same time endorse or cause to be endorsed thereon his...
- Section 36 - Undercutting
(1) Any advocate who holds himself out or allows himself to be held out, directly or indirectly and whether or not by name, as being prepared to do professional business at less than the remuneration...
- Section 37 - Sharing profits
Any advocate who agrees to share his profits in respect of any professional business, whether contentious or non-contentious, with any person not being an advocate or other duly qualified legal...
- Section 38 - Touts
(1) Any unqualified person who, in consideration of any payment or other advantage to himself or any other person, procures or attempts to procure the employment of an advocate as such in any suit or...
- Section 39 - Advocate not to act as agent for unqualified person
Any advocate who acts as agent in any suit, or in any matter in bankruptcy, for any unqualified person, or permits his name, or that of any firm of which he is a partner, to be made use of in any such...
- Section 40 - No costs recoverable where unqualified person acts as advocate
No costs in respect of anything done by an unqualified person in contravention of this Part shall be recoverable in any suit or matter by any person.
- Section 41 - Employment by advocate of persons struck-off the Roll or suspended
(1) No advocate shall, in connection with his practice as an advocate, without the written permission of the Council of the Society, which may be given for such period and subject to such conditions...
- Section 42 - Penalty for failure to disclose fact of having been struck-off, etc.
(1) Any person who, whilst he is disqualified from practising as an advocate by reason of the fact that he has been struck off the Roll, otherwise than at his own request, or is suspended from...
- Section 43 - Offences by bodies corporate
(1) If any act is done by a body corporate or by any director, officer or servant thereof, of such a nature or in such a manner as to be calculated to imply that the body corporate is qualified, or...
- Section 44 - Chief Justice may make orders prescribing remuneration
(1) The Council of the Society may make recommendation to the Chief Justice on all matters relating to the remuneration of advocates, and the Chief Justice, having considered the same, may by order,...
- Section 45 - Agreements with respect to remuneration
(1) Subject to section 46 and whether or not an order is in force under section 44, an advocate and his client may—
(a) before, after or in the course of any contentious business, make an...
- Section 46 - Invalid agreements
Nothing in this Act shall give validity to—
(a) any purchase by an advocate of the interest, or any part of the interest, of his client in any suit or other contentious proceeding; or
(b) any...
- Section 47 - Power of court to order advocate to deliver his bill and to deliver up deed
(1) The jurisdiction of the Court to make orders for the delivery by an advocate of a bill of costs, and for the delivery up of or otherwise in relation to, any deeds, documents or papers in his...
- Section 48 - Action for recovery of costs
(1) Subject to this Act, no suit shall be brought for the recovery of any costs due to an advocate or his firm until the expiry of one month after a bill for such costs, which may be in summarized...
- Section 49 - Procedure in action where quantum of costs is challenged by defence
Where, in the absence of an agreement for remuneration made by virtue of section 45, a suit has been brought by an advocate for the recovery of any costs and a defence is filed disputing the...
- Section 50 - Taxation on application of third parties, beneficiaries under trust, etc.
(1) Where a person other than the person who is the party chargeable with a bill of costs is liable to pay the bill either to the advocate or to the party chargeable with the bill, or where a person...
- Section 51 - General provisions as to taxation
(1) Every application for an order for the taxation of an advocate’s bill or for the delivery of such a bill and the delivering up of any deeds, documents and papers by an advocate shall be made in...
- Section 52 - Charging orders
Any court in which an advocate has been employed to prosecute or defend any suit or matter may at any time declare the advocate entitled to a charge on the property recovered or preserved through his...
- Section 53 - Establishment of Complaints Commission
(1) There is hereby established a Complaints Commission (in this Part referred to as “the Commission”) which shall consist of such commissioner or commissioners as shall be appointed by the President...
- Section 53A - Remuneration of Commissioner
(1) There shall be paid to the Commissioner such remuneration by way of salary, allowance, pension or gratuity as shall be determined by the President.
(2) The remuneration referred to in subsection...
- Section 54 - Secretary and staff of Commission and rules relating thereto
(1) There shall be a secretary to the Commission who shall be appointed by the Attorney-General.
(2) The Attorney-General shall provide such public officers as are necessary for the proper and...
- Section 55 - Advocates to be officers of Court
Every advocate and every person otherwise entitled to act as an advocate shall be an officer of the Court and shall be subject to the jurisdiction thereof and, subject to this Act, to the jurisdiction...
- Section 56 - Savings of disciplinary powers of Court
Nothing in this Act shall supersede, lessen or interfere with the powers vested in the Chief Justice or any of the judges of the Court to deal with misconduct or offences by an advocate, or any person...
- Section 57 - Establishment of Disciplinary Tribunal
(1) There is established a tribunal to be known as the Disciplinary Tribunal (in this Part referred to as “the Tribunal”) which shall consist of—
(a) the Attorney-General;
(aa) the Director of...
- Section 58 - Proceedings of Tribunal
(1) The Tribunal may, subject to subsection (2), act as a tribunal of either three or five members, and may require the chairman or vice-chairman of the Society or both or any other member of the...
- Section 58A - Establishment of Regional Disciplinary Committees
(1) There are hereby established Disciplinary Committees (in this Part referred to as “Regional Committees”) in five representative regions, other than Nairobi, identified by the society.
(2) Each...
- Section 59 - Application for removal of name from the Roll
(1) An advocate may make an application to the Tribunal to procure his name to be removed from the Roll.
(2) On the hearing of an application under subsection (1), the Tribunal may make an order...
- Section 60 - Complaints against advocates
(1) A complaint against an advocate of professional misconduct, which expression includes disgraceful or dishonourable conduct incompatible with the status of an advocate, may be made to the Tribunal...
- Section 60A - Hearing of complaints
(1) The powers conferred on the Committee by this section may be exercised on the hearing of—
(a) any application or complaint made to the Committee under this Act by or on behalf of the Council;...
- Section 61 - Reports by Tribunal and action thereon
(1) On the termination of the hearing of a complaint, if the Tribunal does not dismiss the same, the Tribunal shall embody its findings and the order or orders made by it in the form of a report to...
- Section 62 - Appeal against order of Tribunal
(1) Any advocate aggrieved by order of the Tribunal made under section 60 may, within fourteen days after the receipt by him of the notice to be given to him pursuant to section 61(2), appeal against...
- Section 63 - Registrar to furnish copy of the report and record
When notifying the Council of the Society and the advocate to whom a complaint relates of the date fixed for the hearing of the appeal, the Registrar shall also forward to the Council and the advocate...
- Section 64 - Powers of Court
The Court, after considering the evidence taken by the Tribunal, the report of the Tribunal and the memorandum of appeal, and having heard the parties, and after taking any further evidence, if it...
- Section 65 - Powers of Court under section 64 to be exercised by two judges
(1) The powers conferred upon the Court by section 64 shall be exercised by not less than two of the judges of the Court.
(2) If such powers are exercised by two judges and the opinion of the Court...
- Section 66 - Registrar to draw up orders
Where an order has been made by the Court under section 64, the Registrar shall, within one week from the date of the making thereof, cause the order to be drawn up.
- Section 67 - Right of appeal to Court of Appeal
(1) Any advocate aggrieved by a decision or order of the Court made under section 64 may appeal therefrom to the Court of Appeal in the manner and within the time prescribed by the rules made from...
- Section 68 - Orders to be noted on the Roll
(1) The Registrar shall cause a note of the effect of a final order to be entered in the Roll against the name of the advocate concerned, and where the order so directs shall remove or strike off his...
- Section 69 - Law Society to be informed of result of disciplinary proceedings and publicity of striking-off or suspension
(1) The Registrar shall inform the secretary to the Society of the making of an entry in respect of any advocate on the Roll and of the removal from, or the striking off, the Roll of the name of any...
- Section 70 - Limitation of time for certain applications to strike names off the Roll
Subject as hereinafter provided, no advocate shall be liable to have his name struck off the Roll on account of any defect in his admission and enrolment, unless the application to strike his name off...
- Section 71 - Restoration to Roll
The Chief Justice shall, upon the recommendation of the Tribunal and with the written approval of the Chairman of the Society, order the Registrar to restore on the Roll the name of any advocate whose...
- Section 72 - Disciplinary powers as to clerks
(1) An application may be made by or on behalf of the Council of the Society to the Tribunal for an order directing that, as from a date to be specified in such order, no advocate shall, in connection...
- Section 73 - Clerk’s right of appeal
(1) Any person against whom an order has been made by the Tribunal under section 72 may, within fourteen days of the date of such order, appeal against such order to the Court, by giving notice of...
- Section 74 - Offences and penalties with respect to employment of clerks against whom an order is in force
(1) Any person against whom an order made under section 72 is in force who seeks or accepts employment by, or remuneration from, an advocate in connection with his practice as an advocate without...
- Section 75 - Order of Tribunal to be received in evidence
Every report and every order made by the Tribunal under this Part shall be signed by the chairman of the Tribunal, and any document, purporting to be a report or an order so signed shall be received...
- Section 76 - Authentication of rules and other documents
Subject to section 75, all rules, certificates, notices and other documents made or issued by the Tribunal for any purpose whatsoever may be signed on behalf of the Tribunal by the secretary to the...
- Section 77 - Penalties for failure to comply with order of Tribunal
Any person who, without good and lawful excuse, contravenes or fails to comply with any order, notice or direction of the Tribunal or the Complaints Commission shall be guilty of an offence and, in...
- Section 78 - Immunity for members of Tribunal
No member of the Tribunal, nor any person who is or was at any material time a member, or the secretary, thereof, shall be liable to be sued in any civil court for or in respect of any act or thing...
- Section 79 - Right to legal representation
Any advocate against whom a complaint is made or any complainant under Part X or this Part, may be represented by an advocate.
- Section 80 - Betrayal of trust
Any person who, being an advocate, is entrusted in his professional capacity with any money, valuable security or other property to retain it in safe custody with instructions to pay or apply it for...
- Section 81 - Power to make rules
(1) The Council of the Society, with the approval of the Chief Justice, may make rules with regard to—
(a) the professional practice, conduct and discipline of advocates;
(b) the keeping of...