IBA supported the UNBA: advocates should not be identified with their clients

The International Bar Association (IBA), through its Commission on advocacy, sent a letter to the chairman of the Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA) in support of the UNBA's position on protecting the independence of the legal profession and the safety of advocates.

Earlier, the UNBA informed its international partners about specific violations of guarantees (identification with clients, persecution for professional activities, violation of attorney-client privilege, searches of offices, pressure from law enforcement agencies in connection with the representation of certain categories of clients) and drew attention to the fact that this situation had become particularly acute in connection with the armed aggression of the Russian Federation and the consideration of criminal cases against persons associated with the aggressor state.

«Such actions undermine the rule of law, public confidence in the justice system, and threaten the guarantees of independence of the legal profession, - the IBA emphasized. - Attacks on advocates, persecution by law enforcement agencies, public insults, and murders illustrate the serious risks that advocates face in Ukraine for performing their professional duties».

Recognizing the efforts of the Ukrainian advocacy institution to uphold these principles and its commitment to protecting the independence and safety of advocates, the IBA Bar Commission called on the UNBA to continue to systematically record, analyze, and respond to potential violations.

According to the UN Basic Principles on the role of advocates, adopted by the Eighth UN Congress on the prevention of crime in August 1990, advocates should not be identified with their clients and their cases in connection with the performance of their professional duties, and they should be able to perform their professional duties without intimidation or hindrance.

«In a democratic society where the rule of law prevails, all persons, regardless of the charges against them, must have the right to effective legal protection. Advocates, in turn, must be protected in the performance of this indispensable role», - the Commission on advocacy emphasizes in its letter.

«The support expressed by the IBA is a clear signal from the international community: protecting the safety and independence of advocates is not a privilege, but a basic guarantee of fair trial. That is why it is unacceptable to equate an advocate with a client, - commented the Vice President of the UNBA, BCU Valentin Gvozdiy. - We are therefore grateful to the IBA Commission on advocacy for its solidarity. After all, steps aimed at ensuring real guarantees for professional activity are important for the Ukrainian advocacy, which is working in conditions of war while maintaining professional standards and the principles of the rule of law».

The IBA, founded in 1947, is a leading global organization comprising more than 80,000 lawyers and over 190 advocate associations and law societies from more than 170 countries around the world. The IBA Advocacy Commission seeks to promote, protect, and ensure the role of the independent legal profession and the rule of law in the interests of member bar associations worldwide.

The Ukrainian National Bar Association was unanimously accepted into the International Bar Association in 2015. In the fall of 2022, the UNBA was honored with a special IBA award for its extraordinary leadership and dedication to the protection of human rights and the rule of law in Ukraine.