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Many people use the help of lawyers; we often accompany you during the most important moments in your life. When you want to assert your rights in court, defend yourselves against accusations and charges, or carry out important civil law transactions (e.g., purchasing a house, apartment, or plot of land). People trust lawyers, often rightly believing that with the help of educated and experienced professionals in the field
legal services people are able to handle the case much faster and more effectively, e.g.
preparation and negotiation of a real estate lease agreement or court proceedings (civil, family, and sometimes criminal) and worry much less about difficult-to-understand formalities.
Many people are unaware of what a court hearing looks like, what documents need to be filed and by what deadlines, and how to prepare them. In such a situation, lawyers with professional qualifications, i.e., barristers or solicitors, come to their aid.
However, there are many different lawyers dealing with various areas of law. For a civil or criminal case, or when we want to ask for a contract to be drawn up – we will go to a solicitor or a barrister. Among lawyers, we distinguish primarily: solicitors, barristers, notaries, judges, prosecutors, bailiffs, and legislators.
However, not everyone knows what the parties to the relationship between a lawyer and a client are called. Stating that it is a client and a lawyer is perfectly correct nowadays, but there are also other, slightly more interesting and sometimes more appropriate terms – these will be presented at the end of the article.
Power of attorney
Legal Counsel Can lawyers carry out legal actions on behalf of their clients based on a power of attorney agreement regulated by the Civil Code – representation. In accordance with Article 95 of the Civil Code, an individual can carry out legal actions through a representative, which produces direct effects for them – as if they had done it themselves. The client in this situation will
principal for a lawyer (the Civil Code indicates this by referring to them as such in many articles, including Article 101). A lawyer will, however,
representative, which follows from Article 96 of the Civil Code, as two forms of representation are distinguished here: statutory representation and proxy.
Statutory representation, as the name suggests, arises from the law (e.g., the parents of a 7-year-old child), while a proxy arises from the declaration of the represented party. A proxy is divided into three categories: General – authorisation to conduct ordinary management activities. This is a rather problematic issue, as no code explains what these "ordinary management activities" are. In each case, it must be examined whether the activity goes beyond their canon. It will mainly concern "everyday activities". Under penalty of nullity, it must be drawn up in writing (Article 99 §2 of the Civil Code).
General – authorisation to conduct ordinary management activities. In every case, it must be examined whether the act performed on behalf of the principal is actually an ordinary act or one that goes beyond the scope of such. It will mainly concern "daily activities". Under penalty of invalidity, it must be drawn up in writing (Art. 99 §2 of the Civil Code).
Generic – authorisation to carry out specific types of transactions beyond ordinary management.
Special – authorisation for a specific action, exceeding ordinary management. This is a one-off and clearly defined legal action. If the power of attorney includes authorisation to perform an action for which the code requires a specific form, the power of attorney must also be made in that form (Art. 99 §1 of the Civil Code).
Example of a General Power of Attorney: Jaszpol sp. z o.o. granted general power of attorney to a legal advisor. Based on this authorisation, the legal advisor's law firm can handle ordinary management activities, such as sending letters to clients demanding payment for invoices and filing cases in court, or negotiating contracts on behalf of the Company.
If the company Jaszpol Ltd. wanted to sell its property, it would have to grant a solicitor a special power of attorney in the form of a notarial deed, as a general power of attorney would not suffice here – the sale of property is not an act of ordinary management. However, the company could ratify such an act on the basis of Article 103 of the Civil Code.
Example: Adam S. would like to sell his property in Poland, located in Warsaw, as he has been living and working in the United States for many years and no longer needs the property. He is also aware that to sell it, it must be done by notarial deed. During his two-week trip to Poland to visit family, he met with a lawyer and granted him a special power of attorney to sell the property on his behalf. They had to conclude this power of attorney in the form of a notarial deed drawn up by a notary due to the formal requirement for property sales.
Example: Patrycja K. has requested a divorce from her husband. She went to a legal advisor with this matter and granted him a general written power of attorney so that he could handle specific divorce-related actions. Divorce-related actions are a range of different legal activities that the advisor can carry out on her behalf (a specific type of action).
A power of attorney can, of course, be revoked, unless the principal has waived this right for reasons specified by the legal relationship. A power of attorney also ceases to be effective upon the death of the principal or the attorney-in-fact (Art. 101 of the Civil Code). There is also the possibility for the attorney-in-fact to appoint substitute attorneys-in-fact for the principal, i.e. another authorised person, but only if this is expressly stated (Art. 106 of the Civil Code). Therefore, a trainee legal advisor or advocate, whose mentor is the attorney-in-fact by virtue of their authorisation, may appear in court instead of the attorney-in-fact, and this will still be in accordance with the law. The principal may also appoint several attorneys-in-fact for the same activities, unless otherwise provided by the representation agreement (Art. 107 of the Civil Code).
Mandant – mandate holder
The words "mandant" and "mandatariusz" come from Latin, from the word
"mandare"which means "to entrust", "to burden" or "to recommend". The word was used in ancient Rome.
"Mandate" (Latin: mandate) was entrusted to the mandatary, and by signing this, the mandatary informally undertook to perform tasks free of charge for the mandator or a third party, while exercising due diligence.
The law in continental European countries draws heavily from Roman law, and therefore, in contemporary times, the principal will be
client, and the representative
trusteeThe agent undertakes to perform specific tasks on behalf of and for the principal, and the principal undertakes to pay the agreed fee.
In ancient Rome, the word "client" meant a poor citizen who was hereditarily dependent on his patron (a patrician). This gave rise to the hierarchical relationship between them; the principal was something entirely different from the client of that time – there was no such hierarchy between the principal and the agent. These are the terms that best demonstrate the relationship between a lawyer and their client, defining their partner-like relationship and the equality of the parties.
In modern times, however, the client can, of course, be called
customerThis is a very common term, even in English it is referred to as 'client'. The PWN Polish Dictionary defines 'client' as: 'a person (...) using the services of a bank, lawyer, etc. (...)'. This further confirms this possibility.
In other words, a mandant is a principal –
Clientand a mandatory is a representative – a lawyer (legal advisor, barrister).
In civil proceedings
In the civil divisions of common courts, during civil proceedings, there are most often only two parties, even though there may be several individuals involved:
1.
Reason – the person who files a lawsuit in court. It is legally incumbent upon them to provide evidence that favours their case and supports the validity of the claim;
Defendant – the person against whom a lawsuit has been filed. They are not obliged to actively participate in the proceedings (they do not have to present evidence in their favour); In addition to these two parties, civil proceedings also involve
proxies – the relationship described above (client – lawyer). Both the plaintiff and the defendant may use the services of a representative. In this proceeding, the lawyer will not act as a defence counsel. The representative will most often be a legal advisor or a barrister/solicitor (Art. 87 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
Example: Patrycja K. is the plaintiff in divorce proceedings with her husband, as she initiated the lawsuit with the court; her husband, on the other hand, is the defendant. Patrycja has the obligation to present all evidence and document her case in this dispute, as she initiated the lawsuit and, consequently, it is she who has an interest in winning. The husband does not have to actively participate or prove that Patrycja is wrong, but this is associated with a ruling issued to his detriment.
The proceedings are presided over by a judge, whose task is to examine the facts and issue a ruling that will conclude and settle the case. In addition to the aforementioned individuals, other parties may also be involved in civil proceedings, such as a prosecutor, the State Labour Inspectorate, interveners, expert witnesses, etc.
In criminal proceedings
A prosecutor is associated with criminal proceedings. And no differently, here they play the biggest role, however, they can also participate in proceedings, e.g. civil ones. But now I will focus only on criminal proceedings.
A prosecutor usually initiates these proceedings in cases of offences prosecuted ex officio or upon request, after such a request has been lodged by the injured party. They are
public prosecutor – represents the State and its interest in ensuring that the law is observed in Poland and justly enforced towards all. It participates in both preparatory proceedings (unless conducted by the Police) and jurisdictional proceedings (unless a subsidiary prosecutor is involved).
Initially, preparatory proceedings take place – gathering evidence, establishing facts, in order to be able to accuse the appropriate person of committing a crime. In preparatory proceedings, a person who has committed a crime or is suspected of it may be:
- Suspicious person – She is suspected of committing a crime, but no charges have been brought against her, even though she is being treated as a suspect. She does not have the same rights as a suspect; they are severely restricted.
- Suspicious – a person accused of committing an offence (Article 71(1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The Act also states that if the term "accused" is used in a general sense, it also applies to a suspect (Article 71(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure), e.g. the principle of the presumption of innocence and the right to defence also apply to a suspect.
Proceedings before the court begin with the submission of the indictment to the court by the prosecutor (Art. 14 §1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The following parties are involved in the jurisdictional proceedings:
- Accused – a person against whom an indictment has been brought before the court (Art. 71 §2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). They are presumed innocent, meaning they are considered innocent until a judgment is issued (Art. 5 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). A very important aspect is their right to defence, as defined in Art. 6 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which must be guaranteed to them (as discussed below – mandatory defence, defence by appointment), but the person concerned does not have to exercise it.
- Public prosecutor – the prosecutor filing the indictment (Art. 45 §1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure) and other authorised entities (Art. 45 §2 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). His participation is mandatory in cases of offences prosecuted ex officio (Art. 46 of the Code of Criminal Procedure);
- Secondary auxiliary prosecutor - the victim, who may declare their intention to actively participate alongside the public prosecutor (Art. 53, 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). The victim may also choose not to make such a declaration and will then remain merely a witness.
- Subsidiary auxiliary prosecutor – a victim who can file a bill of indictment themselves with the court instead of the public prosecutor, after a number of factors mentioned in Art. 55 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are met (including the prosecutor must twice refuse to initiate the investigation);
- Private prosecutor – the injured party who independently files a bill of indictment (or obviously with the help of a representative) with the court, concerning only offences prosecuted upon private indictment, not prosecuted ex officio or upon request (Art. 59 of the Code of Criminal Procedure);
- The injured party – a natural or legal person whose legal interest has been directly violated or threatened by a crime (Art. 49 §1 of the Code of Criminal Procedure). Their role here is not linked with the role of the prosecutor. The victim does not have to actively participate in criminal proceedings as a prosecutor. Their participation may be limited to submitting an application as specified in Art. 46 §1 of the Criminal Code for the restoration in whole or in part of the damage caused or for compensation for harm. The time limit for submitting this application is until the conclusion of the court proceedings (Art. 49a of the Code of Criminal Procedure).
Summary
There are many different terms depending on the lawyer's profession – a client of a professional representative, i.e. a legal advisor or a barrister, will be, for example, a mandant or a principal, just as a client of a doctor is a patient. Many professions have special terms for the people who use their services, but the word "client" itself has become very widespread and it is not a mistake to call all people who use the services of lawyers that.
Another term, contained in
Civil Code In the Code of Civil Procedure, the lawyer will be referred to as "attorney" and the client as "principal". Continental law, deriving from Roman law, also adopted the terms "mandant" for the client and "mandatary" for the lawyer. These terms are less popular today, but they are worth knowing, if only for historical and traditional reasons. These two pairs of terms most fully describe the relationship that connects a lawyer with a person using their services.
Parties in proceedings also have their special terms – almost all have been described above. I hope the article has been helpful and now you will know how to define your position if you are a client using the services of a lawyer, i.e.:
for a legal advisor, lawyer –
also called patrons or defenders – you will be a principal, a client, a client (and for those specializing in…
lawyer rental agreements – landlord or tenant) ;
for a notary - also called a notary - you will be a party;
for the judge – you will be a witness, expert or party (i.e. plaintiff or defendant, and in criminal cases, defendant);
for the prosecutor – you will be a victim, a witness, an expert, a suspect or accused;
for the bailiff – you will be a debtor or a creditor;
for the legislator – you will be an individual or a citizen.
If you know other terms for what lawyers' clients are called, please feel free to add them in the comments! 🙂
