O profesiune liberală sub patru dictaturi.Avocatura din România între extrema dreaptă și cea stângă

A liberal profession, lawyering was probably the most important and visible aspect of Romania's social modernization since the 19th century. Following the Western model, especially the French one, lawyers played a central role in reforming Romanian legal institutions. Modern justice placed legal counsel at the heart of the system, although it was considered more of a vocation than a constitutive part. It also presented an excellent opportunity for enrichment and, therefore, for social ascent in a predominantly oligarchic society. Initially oriented toward the free circulation of ideas, the study of law became, after World War II, increasingly attractive to political groups that openly proposed the destruction of Romania's social order. The far-right also recruited many of its followers from the Medicine and Law faculties at all Romanian universities. After 1944, the trend of restricting freedom in this profession continued. Lawyers, with their political inclinations, automatically became suspects. Many were arrested and convicted, as they were involved in political trials where defense was irrelevant. Counselors with communist sympathies left the bar to join the judiciary—due to a lack of personnel loyal to the new regime—or were recruited by the government. The present study aims to trace the phases of this institutional history.