Vatras on the implementation of the Roadmap: only advocates should create their own destiny

Work on implementing the Roadmap in relation to advocacy should be based on the participation of the professional community itself, and key tasks should be structured in such a way as to avoid mixing processes that differ in content and procedure.

This position was expressed by the chairman of the subcommittee on the organization and activities of advocacy and legal aid bodies of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on legal policy Volodymyr Vatras, during the first organizational meeting of the working group on the implementation of the Roadmap.

According to him, all members of the relevant parliamentary subcommittee, without exception, have joined the working group. And this, in his opinion, creates the conditions for interaction between parliament, bar self-government bodies, and international partners during the preparation of amendments to the legislation on advocacy and the practice of law.

«I think that our work will be fruitful and productive. Together with the National Bar Association, together with our foreign colleagues and partners, we will implement the Roadmap, we will develop powerful amendments to the Law «On advocacy and legal practice» and, of course, we will bring them to life», - he said.

Separately, the MP drew attention to the problem of the formation of working formats by executive authorities without the involvement of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, its leadership, and regional representatives. He stressed that the reform of advocacy cannot take place without advocacy. It is advocates who should provide substantive proposals for improving regulation. «Only advocates should shape their own destiny, and only advocates can provide extremely important proposals for improving legislation and implementing the Roadmap», - V. Vatras noted.

Another focus of his speech was the need to distinguish between two different areas that the Ministry of Justice combines into one. These are the signing and ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the protection of the profession of advocate and, separately, the improvement of relevant legislation. «In our subcommittee, we believe that these are two different areas, so it is extremely urgent today to sign and ratify the Convention... And then, of course, we will work on the relevant law within the framework of the working group», - explained the MP.

In the same context, he stressed that parliament would take into account the position of the UNBA when preparing decisions. «The Committee on legal policy works closely with the bar self-government bodies. I am convinced that the legislative body will definitely take into account the position of the Ukrainian National Bar Association, practicing advocates, of whom there are about 70,000 in Ukraine today. This is an extremely powerful professional community. In essence, they are the intelligentsia of jurisprudence, people who, with their experience, knowledge, and skills, will help us develop this bill», - he noted.

Among the organizational proposals from V. Vatras was the need for regular meetings of the working group. Given the complexity of the tasks and the deadline set for the fourth quarter of 2026, he expressed the position that it would be optimal to meet at least once a month in order to maintain momentum and move more quickly to develop agreed-upon decisions.