We present to your attention three materials prepared by lawyers—members of the International Association of Russian Advocates and a number of well-known international experts—published in the international scientific and practical journal “Eurasian Advocacy.” These materials reveal one of the most resonant and fundamental cases of the modern Russian bar: the “case of lawyer Pavel Ivlev.”
Among the materials are:
1. Interview with advocate Pavel Ivlev: «International Standards Against Arbitrariness: Pavel Ivlev Reinstated in Advocate status by the Decision of the International Association of Russian Advocates»
2. The Conclusion of the International Expert Examination by the International Association of Russian Advocates on the Issue of Arbitrary Deprivation (Termination) of the Pavel Petrovich Ivlev`s Advocate Status
3. Comments by Karinna Moskalenko, President of the International Association of Russian Adocates and Andrey Ragulin, member of the General Council of the Association, on the Conclusion of the International Expert Examination on the Arbitrary Termination of Pavel Ivlev’s Advocate Status and His Admission to Membership in the Association
At the center of attention are the interview with advocate Pavel Ivlev and the international expert opinion, which convincingly proves the arbitrary nature of the termination of his advocate status and the political motives behind his criminal prosecution. The comments by advocates Karinna Moskalenko and Andrey Ragulin regarding the expert opinion and the decision of the International Association of Russian Lawyers to admit Pavel Ivlev as a full member of the Association—thereby restoring his status as an advocate—add a living dimension to the analysis, combining rigorous legal argumentation with the professional and ethical position of the legal community.
The materials show how actions and procedures that are formally legal, but anti-legal in nature, can turn into an instrument of arbitrariness when they are detached from the principles of justice and international human rights standards. They also demonstrate the role that independent professional associations of lawyers are called upon to play when national institutions of the legal profession fail to perform their protective function.
The story of Pavel Ivlev’s restoration to advocate status by the decision of the International Association of Russian Advocates becomes an example of the rehabilitation of persecuted lawyers. It serves as a method of active resistance to arbitrariness and the persecution of lawyers for their lawful activities that correspond to professional standards and the duty of a defender.
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Finally, before you is a rare example of professional solidarity and intellectual resistance: when, instead of silent consent, arguments, expert opinions, and decisions based on conscience and law appear. These texts read as a challenge—to the system, to fear, and to indifference. That is why one wants not just to become acquainted with them, but to read deeply, comprehend, and discuss them, returning to them again and again.
For the convenience of the international audience, all materials are accompanied by their English translation, performed with the help of large language models, making the arguments set forth accessible outside the Russian-speaking space.
