The right of defence is one of the fundamental human rights. In criminal proceedings, its implementation may translate into defendant’s right of undertaking his defence on his own, as well as of having recourse to a professional defender. In this regard, the defender (an attorney or a legal counsel) has been given a certain set of entitlements which, on one hand, can aid in performing his own duties and, on the other hand, provides a legal framework for the execution of these duties. The way in which the defender’s activities are conducted depends on the will and the contribution of the defendant himself. At the meeting point of the defender-defendant relationship there may appear certain occurrences, and some of them prohibited by penal legislation, which imply a number of issues and thus need to be clarified. Those issues include, inter alia, the scope of the right of defence as well as defender’s competences, the lawfulness of the activities being undertaken, the question of the scope and framework of defender’s legal privilege with regard to his knowledge on the crime.

Core value and related principles, qualities, attitudes as reflected in the University of Vienna Code of Ethics

This paper is an attempt to address the following research questions: What core value and its associated principles, qualities, and attitudes are reflected in the University of Vienna’s Code of Ethics? What perception of the university does this document reveal? The first part of this paper is a description of the essential historical facts pertaining to this university, its organizational structure and the formation of world elites. The second part explains the importance of the code of ethics as a means of helping to direct human conduct toward social, educational, and economic goals. The third part was focused on the main axiological quality (value), as well as the aretological (virtues/characteristics), normative (principles/norms) and behavioral qualities comprised in the content of the Code. The value marked most clearly in the Code of Ethics of the University of Vienna was responsibility. It is also a desirable attitude of university members that predisposes them to exhibit qualities such as honesty and loyalty. The principles of conduct specified in the Code included: legality, expediency, economy, openness, risk minimization, sustainable development, “face to face” communication in situations requiring confidentiality.