UNBA appeals to the President to stop the ‘shadow’ bar reform

Dear Mr. President!

I am addressing You on behalf of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, the only professional organization in the state that unites the entire 35 000 strong bar community and is a representative of Ukrainian bar in its relations with the state authorities and international organizations.

Once again the UNBA has no other choice but to appeal to You, as the initiator of judicial reform, which, in particular, envisages also the bar institute reform. I am asking You to pay attention to serious challenges and threats to the democratic, transparent and professional nature of this process.

On October 04, 2017 we received a letter from the Deputy Head of the Council of Europe Office in Ukraine with a proposal to organize a meeting of the Council of Europe experts and representatives to discuss issues related to the evaluation of compliance of the draft law “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Practice of Law” (as amended and restated) and other Related Legislative Acts of Ukraine” with the standards and recommendations of the Council of Europe.

During the meeting with the Council of Europe experts and representatives, held on October 11, 2017, we learned about the existence of a draft law on the status and activities of Ukrainian advocates, which was drafted secretly and without the knowledge and participation of the professional bar organization.

Mr. President, the text of this specialized draft law, submitted for examination to the Council of Europe Project “Support to the Implementation of the Judicial Reform in Ukraine”, is so secret that during our meeting the Council of Europe international experts Mr. Rytis Jokubauskas and Mr. Vahe Grigoryan could not present it to the representatives of the Ukrainian National Bar Association and the representatives of the regional bar councils without a special consent of the Judicial Reform Council. Thus, for the reasons mentioned above, this discussion fell through.

Mr. President, this is not the first attempt to secretly introduce changes to the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Practice of Law”, of which we have already informed You in December 2016. From the very beginning the UNBA was limited in cooperation and at the most responsible final stage it was completely excluded from the process by depriving of direct participation, real influence and knowledge of the content and essence of the draft law.

In this regard, I would like to draw Your attention to the fact that in its public statement of December 15, 2016 the Bar Council of Ukraine has emphasized the inadmissibility of the ‘closed’ form of work, as well as of the draft amendments to the Law “On the Bar and Practice of Law”, approved by the working group.

In addition, on December 23, 2016 one of the most influential bar organizations, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), sent a so-called Intervention Letter to the leadership of Ukraine, referring to the fact that the independence and self-governance of the legal profession are recognized by the Council of Europe Recommendations of October 25, 2000, and the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers of December 14, 1990. Moreover, the CCBE key documents, such as the Charter of the Core Principles of the European Legal Profession and the Code of Conduct for European Lawyers, recognize the independence of legal profession and its self-governance as key values.

Being aware of the situation with the closed process of approval of the draft law “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Practice of Law”, the CCBE requested to refrain from introducing any changes to the relevant legislation without consulting the Ukrainian National Bar Association. But nothing has changed, as we see.

Given the above, on behalf of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, I request to take urgent measures to remedy the situation in order to avoid a conflict within the country and not to give the international community any reasons to once again point out that the judicial reform process in Ukraine is non-inclusive, as well as to actively involve the UNBA representatives in the process of discussion and final approval of the draft law “On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Practice of Law” (as amended and restated) and other Related Legislative Acts of Ukraine”, and to submit this draft law to the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission) for consideration and opinion on compliance with European standards and values before it is transmitted to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.

Respectfully,

President of the Ukrainian National Bar Association,

Lidiia Izovitova