BCU has the authority to organize conferences of advocates of the regions – court ruling

When independently convening a conference of advocates of the region and, thus, creating an organizing committee for holding the conference of advocates of the region, the Bar Council of Ukraine acts within the limits of the authority provided for by the law.

Such a conclusion was reached on June 14, 2017 by a panel of judges of the Chamber on Civil Cases of the High Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases after reviewing the ruling of Khmelnytskyi city Court of Khmelnytskyi region dated April 18, 2016, upheld by the ruling of the Court of Appeal of Khmelnytsky region dated August 29, 2016; the claim in a civil case No. 686/16001/15-ц was dismissed.

By dismissing a cassation appeal, the panel of judges of the High Specialized Court of Ukraine for Civil and Criminal Cases upheld the decisions of the court of the first instance and the court of appeal, as well as the position of the Bar Council of Ukraine, noting that the Bar Council of Ukraine is authorized to convene a conference of advocates of the region as an independent entity in all matters related to the bar self-government in the region.

At the same time, the issues on the establishment of the organizing committee for holding the conference of advocates of the region, and on the independent convocation of the conference of advocates of the region to resolve the matters related to establishment and operation of the bar self-government bodies in the region fall within the powers of the Bar Council of Ukraine provided for in paragraph 2 of Article 47, subparagraphs 4, 8, 9 of paragraph 4 of Article 55 of the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Practice of Law”.

Such decisions are stipulated by the inadequate level of the bar self-government organization in the region, which impedes the normal activities of these bodies in the manner prescribed by the above Law.