Social:Sharp practice

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Short description: Legal term

Sharp practice or sharp dealing is a pejorative phrase to describe sneaky or cunning behavior that is technically within the rules of the law but borders on being unethical.[1][2]

The term has been used by judges in Canada ; in one case, a Canadian Construction Board gave an example of "sharp practice" for one party to "take advantage of a clear oversight by the opposite party in a proceeding."[3] According to another source, a Canadian court of appeal judgement, judges should not accuse counsel of sharp practice lightly and should generally not make such an accusation based solely on written submissions.[4] Likewise in R v Badger the Supreme Court of Canada forbade the government from engaging in "sharp dealing" with First Nations in implementing treaties.

See also

References

  1. "Professional Conduct Handbook - Chapter 1 - Canons of Legal Ethics | The Law Society of British Columbia" (in en). The Law Society of British Columbia. https://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=1027&t=Professional-Conduct-Handbook-Chapter-1-Canons-of-Legal-Ethics#1-4. "A lawyer should avoid all sharp practice and should take no paltry advantage when an opponent has made a slip or overlooked some technical matter. A lawyer should accede to reasonable requests which do not prejudice the rights of the client or the interest of justice." 
  2. "Sharp Practice Definition" (in en-US). http://www.duhaime.org/LegalDictionary/S/SharpPractice.aspx. "Sharp Practice Definition: Prohibited conduct by a licensed lawyer in taking, or attempting to take advantage of a slip or overlooked technical matter by the other side to litigation, and to agree to reasonable requests which either prejudice his client or the interests of justice." 
  3. Template:Cite Canadian Court
  4. Template:Cite Canadian Court