The duty in context
Not mislead the court court
The lawyer must not knowingly or recklessly mislead or attempt to mislead the court (or permit it to be misled), and must promptly correct any misleading statement once aware of it.
How the codes express this duty
E&W Solicitors SRA Principles & Code CCS 1.4; CCS 2.4 strong 246 cases
1.4 You do not mislead or attempt to mislead your clients, the court or others, either by your own acts or omissions or allowing or being complicit in the acts or omissions of others (including your client). 2.4 You only make assertions or put forward statements, representations or submissions to the court or others which are properly arguable.
SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs · 2019 · archived copy · official source ↗
E&W Barristers BSB Handbook rC3.1; rC6; gC4 strong 17 cases
rC3.1 you must not knowingly or recklessly mislead or attempt to mislead the court; rC6 Your duty not to mislead the court will include the following obligations: .1 you must not: .a make submissions, representations or any other statement; or .b ask questions which suggest facts to witnesses which you know, or are instructed, are untrue or misleading. gC4 ... knowingly misleading the court also includes inadvertently misleading the court if you later realise that you have misled the court, and you fail to correct the position.
BSB Handbook · current · archived copy · official source ↗
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code 2026 R.2.1(a); R.2.4 strong
not knowingly or recklessly mislead or attempt to mislead the Court or permit the Court to be misled (R.2.4 applies)
Cayman Islands Legal Services Code of Professional Conduct · 2026 · archived copy
AU Solicitors Solicitors' Conduct Rules Rules 19.1; 19.2 strong 77 cases
19.1 A solicitor must not deceive or knowingly or recklessly mislead the court. 19.2 A solicitor must take all necessary steps to correct any misleading statement made by the solicitor to a court as soon as possible after the solicitor becomes aware that the statement was misleading.
Australian Solicitors' Conduct Rules · 2015 (June 2026 compilation) · archived copy · official source ↗
AU Barristers Uniform Barristers Rules rr26-27 strong 29 cases
A barrister must not deceive or knowingly or recklessly mislead the Court. A barrister must take all necessary steps to correct any misleading statement made by the barrister to a court as soon as possible after the barrister becomes aware that the statement was misleading.
Legal Profession Uniform Conduct (Barristers) Rules · 2015 (as amended 14 May 2025) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Solicitors Law Society Guide Ch5 — General; Ch5 — The advocate / conducting litigation strong 3 cases
should assist the court in the administration of justice, and should not deceive, or knowingly or recklessly, mislead the court... A solicitor should not assert what they know to be untrue or substantiate a fraud, as that would amount to a positive deception of the court.
Solicitor's Guide to Professional Conduct (Law Society of Ireland) · 4th ed. (2022) · archived copy · official source ↗
IE Barristers Bar Code of Conduct Rule 5.16; Rule 5.3(e) strong 3 cases
Barristers must not deceive or knowingly mislead the court. A Barrister must take appropriate steps to correct any misleading statement made by the Barrister to the court as soon as possible after the Barrister becomes aware that the statement was misleading.
Code of Conduct for the Bar of Ireland · 2024 · archived copy · official source ↗
JM Attorneys Canons of Professional Ethics Canon V(o); Canon VI(cc); Canon IV(q)(ii) strong 8 cases
(o) An Attorney shall not knowingly make a false statement of law or fact. ... (cc) An Attorney shall not knowingly represent falsely to a Judge, a Court or other tribunal or an official of a Court, or other tribunal, that a particular state of facts exists.
Legal Profession (Canons of Professional Ethics) Rules · 1978 (principal) · archived copy · official source ↗
JE Lawyers Law Society of Jersey Code R.3.1 a); R.3.4 strong
Members must: a) not knowingly or recklessly mislead or attempt to mislead the court or permit the court to be misled (R.3.4 applies)... Members must not: a) make submissions, representations or any other statement, or b) register, file or otherwise lodge any documents with the court, Judicial Greffe or Viscount, that they know, or are instructed, are untrue or misleading.
Law Society of Jersey Code of Conduct · 1 January 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
ON Lawyers LSO Rules of Prof. Conduct r 5.1-2(e) strong
When acting as an advocate, a lawyer shall not ... knowingly attempt to deceive a tribunal or influence the course of justice by offering false evidence, misstating facts or law, presenting or relying upon a false or deceptive affidavit, suppressing what ought to be disclosed, or otherwise assisting in any fraud, crime, or illegal conduct
Law Society of Ontario — Rules of Professional Conduct · current · archived copy · official source ↗
BC Lawyers BC Code r 5.1-2(e) strong 7 cases
When acting as an advocate, a lawyer must not: ... (e) knowingly attempt to deceive a tribunal or influence the course of justice by offering false evidence, misstating facts or law, presenting or relying upon a false or deceptive affidavit, suppressing what ought to be disclosed or otherwise assisting in any fraud, crime or illegal conduct;
Code of Professional Conduct for British Columbia (BC Code) · 2017 · archived copy · official source ↗
NZ Lawyers Conduct & Client Care Rules r 13.1 strong
A lawyer has an absolute duty of honesty to the court and must not mislead or deceive the court.
Lawyers and Conveyancers Act (Lawyers: Conduct and Client Care) Rules 2008 · SR 2008/214 · archived copy · official source ↗
SCO Solicitors LSS Standards of Conduct B1.13 strong 8 cases
You must never knowingly give false or misleading information to the court.
Law Society of Scotland — Practice Rules 2011, Rule B1 (Standards of Conduct) · 2011 · archived copy · official source ↗
SG Lawyers Professional Conduct Rules 2015 r 9 (Conduct of proceedings) partial 6 cases
9 Conduct of proceedings
Legal Profession (Professional Conduct) Rules 2015 · 2015 · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Solicitors Solicitors' Guide Principle 10.03 strong
A solicitor must never knowingly attempt to deceive or participate in the deception of a court. ... He must not, however, himself knowingly put forward or let his client put forward false information with intent to mislead the court.
Hong Kong Solicitors' Guide to Professional Conduct (Volume 1) · current · archived copy · official source ↗
HK Barristers Bar Code of Conduct para 10.30 strong
A practising barrister must not knowingly deceive or mislead the Court.
Code of Conduct of the Bar of the Hong Kong SAR · 2018 · archived copy · official source ↗
Cases dealing with this duty
8 decisions · link basis: found breached = a tribunal finding; rule cited = the mapped provision is cited in the decision; text match = high-precision text pattern
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Sophia Andrea Thomas
Suspended | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered September 30, 2022 | Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered July 29, 2022. View PDF DECISION ON SANCTION OF THE DISCIPLINARY C…
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Sophia Andrea Thomas
Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered July 29, 2022 | Suspended | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered September 30, 2022. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF …
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Michael Lloyd Wilson
Guilty of Professional Misconduct | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered October 31, 2020. || Struck off | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered July 31, 2021. || Formal Order View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLIN…
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Ivor George Peynado
Guilty | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered June 24, 2017. || Suspended | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 17, 2019. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COM…
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Lanza L. Turner-Bowen
Acquitted | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 09, 2009. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCILCOMPLAINT No. 176/2006 BETWEEN SAMEER YOUNIS COMPLAINANT AND LANZA TURNER…
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Howard A. Lettman
Fined/Conditional Suspension | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered December 21, 2005. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCILComplaint #224/2001 IN THE MATTER OF UNA CAMPBELL A…
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Lynden Wellesley
Restitution ordered, Fined | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered October 26, 2002. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT No. 33/99 BETWEEN CAROL REDHIMARK REDHI COM…
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Carol Lena Winston-Churchill
Struck Off | Disciplinary Committee decision delivered April 27, 2002. View PDF DECISION OF THE DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL LEGAL COUNCIL COMPLAINT NO. 124/2001 BETWEEN LLOYD BARNETT(As a member of the General…
Duty classification does not yet cover every jurisdiction (Ontario, New Zealand and Singapore decisions are indexed but not yet duty-classified), so counts here understate those corpora.