The Ombudsman acknowledged the problem of violation of the human right to legal aid in the TCC

The Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for human rights Dmytro Lubinets confirmed the existence of a problem with ensuring the constitutional right to professional legal assistance in territorial recruitment and social support centers.

The Ombudsman reported this during a conversation with journalists, according to Ukrinform.

In particular, he stated that this year there has been a significant increase in the number of appeals to his office regarding the work of military personnel at the TCCs. D. Lubinets called the cases of illegal physical detention, illegal seizure of personal belongings, use of physical force, and denial of a person's right to legal assistance shameful.

When asked how many complaints about the work of the TCC had been recorded this year, the Commissioner replied: «I am not ready to comment on the figures at the moment, because we always compile the figures at the end of the year. But I will say this: compared to last year, there has been a significant increase».

We would like to remind you that recently, the Committee for the protection of advocates' rights and guarantees of legal practice of the Ukrainian National Bar Association presented a report on violations of advocates' professional rights and guarantees of legal practice by the TCC. The most common violation was the denial of access of the advocate to clients in the premises of the TCC, despite the direct guarantee of legal assistance provided for in Article 59 of the Constitution.

For these reasons, the Bar Council of Ukraine appealed to the General Staff of the Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defense with a request to set up separate rooms for advocates to work in all TCCs.

Although constructive cooperation with TCCs has been established in some regions, the problem remains nationwide. Not all regional bar councils of advocates that have independently attempted to resolve this issue have succeeded in agreeing on appropriate cooperation. Moreover, even where premises for advocates formally exist, advocates are often simply not allowed to enter them. The problem lies not only in creating an appropriate space for the provision of professional legal assistance, but also in ensuring real access to it for both advocates and conscripts.