Convention on the protection of the profession of advocate adopted by the Council of Europe

The Council of Europe at its 1522nd meeting, held on March 11 and 12, 2025, adopted the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer.

The text of the document in English can be downloaded here. An unofficial translation into Ukrainian is available here.

This is the first international treaty aimed at protecting the legal profession, - the Council of Europe's official website commented on the adoption of the convention. The decision was a response to the growing number of reports of attacks on the legal profession, in particular in the form of harassment, threats, physical attacks or interference with the exercise of professional duties (for example, creating obstacles to access to clients).

Lawyers play a key role in ensuring the rule of law and access to justice for all, including in defending human rights. Therefore, public confidence in the justice system depends to a large extent on the role of lawyers.

The Convention applies to both lawyers and their professional associations, which play an important role in protecting the rights and interests of lawyers.

Thus, the parties must ensure that the national legal and regulatory framework guarantees the independence and self-governance of professional associations. The election of their governing bodies should be conducted in accordance with the applicable rules and without external interference.

Professional associations may:

• promote and represent the interests of advocates and their profession;
• support and protect the independence of advocates and their role in society
• develop professional standards of conduct and promote their observance in accordance with this Convention;
• promote access to the profession, as well as the continuing education and training of lawyers;
• to cooperate with lawyers, other professional associations, international, intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations in matters of law and the practice of law, in particular in the promotion and protection of the role of lawyers;
• to promote the welfare of advocates and to provide assistance to them and their families, if necessary.

States should ensure that professional associations are timely and effectively involved in consultations on government proposals for changes to legislation, procedural and administrative rules that directly affect the professional activities of lawyers and the regulation of the profession. Any requirement for membership in a professional association should not prevent lawyers from establishing and participating in other associations to protect their professional interests and activities.

The document also contains provisions on the right to practice law, professional rights, freedom of expression, professional discipline, and provides for special measures to protect lawyers and their associations.

According to the Convention, states are obliged to ensure that lawyers can perform their professional duties without the threat of physical attacks, threats, harassment, intimidation or unlawful obstruction or interference. If such actions may constitute a criminal offense, the Parties shall conduct effective investigations.

The Convention will be opened for signature on May 13 during a meeting of Council of Europe foreign ministers in Luxembourg.

To enter into force, the document must be ratified by at least eight countries, six of which must be members of the Council of Europe. Compliance with the Convention will be monitored by an expert group and a committee of the Parties.

As a reminder, in 2020, the European Committee on Legal Cooperation (CDCJ) explored possible measures to ensure the protection of lawyers. One of them was to be a new legal instrument based on Recommendation R(2000)21 of the Committee of Ministers on the freedom of exercise of the profession of lawyer, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, and the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. In order to implement the developments, in 2022, the CDCJ established the Committee of Experts on the Protection of Advocates (CJ-AV), which included 15 experts from all over Europe, including Ukraine.

One of the drafters of the convention was Valentyn Gvozdiy, the Vice President of the Ukrainian National Bar Association and the Bar Council of Ukraine, who was also elected Vice President of the CJ-AV.