The UNBA [Ukrainian National Bar Association] emphasizes the importance of ratification of the Council of Europe Convention for legal security. The document, which is “stuck” in the Ministry of Justice, will protect against oppression and ensure the independence of lawyers.
Despite the fact that Ukraine participated in the preparation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Legal Profession, our state has not yet acceded to this international document. The National Association of Advocates of Ukraine (NAAU) is convinced that the signing and ratification of the Convention is not a matter of politics, but a matter of legal security and guarantees for the entire legal system of the country, reports UNN.
The Convention provides for a number of key provisions without which the Bar cannot function effectively: guarantees of independence, security, inviolability of attorney-client privilege, and the right to unhindered communication with the client, emphasizes Yevheniy Solodko, Chairman of the Committee for the Protection of the Rights of Advocates and Guarantees of Advocacy, in an interview with “ZiB”.
It is important that the document also establishes an international control mechanism – a special group of experts will have the authority to monitor compliance with standards in participating countries.
The document itself is critical for us. It did not arise in a vacuum. The Convention is a response to numerous facts of persecution, attacks and pressure on lawyers in various European countries, including the member states of the Council of Europe themselves. As for Ukraine, we have already talked about searches, beatings, illegal investigative actions… That is why this Convention was created – to put the protection of lawyers on an international legal track– noted in the NAAU.
One example of such violations was the incident that occurred in Kyiv: hidden listening devices and suspicious persons, who were likely employees of the NABU operational services, were found in the lawyers’ office. This led to the so-called “urgent search”, which, according to the NAAU, was accompanied by serious violations of the law – primarily regarding the inviolability of attorney-client privilege. UNN wrote more about this case in its article.
