The BCU demands a review of the composition of the government working group on reforming the advocacy profession

The President of the UNBA, BCU Lidiya Izovitova, appealed to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to review the composition of the working group on improving legislation in the field of advocacy and legal practice.

The relevant letter was sent in accordance with the decision of the Bar Council of Ukraine No. 2 of 17 February 2026 on ensuring adequate institutional representation of the legal profession in this working group, which was established by Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 42 of 12 January 2026.

The BCU noted that the composition of the working group, formed on the basis of a list submitted by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, does not ensure equal (quantitative) representation of the three institutions implementing the Roadmap approved by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine on May 14, 2025, No. 475-r, namely: the Ministry of Justice, the Verkhovna Rada and the UNBA.

After all, the working group includes only one person (BCU member Oksana Kadenko) who is a member of the bar self-government bodies.

According to advocates, this approach contradicts the principle of institutional equality of implementers laid down in the aforementioned order, violates the balance of powers between the designated entities implementing the Roadmap and effectively negates the proper institutional representation of the Ukrainian National Bar Association as the only nationwide professional organization uniting more than 70,000 advocates. This is a deviation from the content and purpose of the Roadmap, which also violates the principles of good governance.

In the context of reforming advocacy, it is necessary to take into account that, according to modern legal doctrine, advocacy itself is an institution of civil society and a human rights institution, which has been delegated by the Constitution of Ukraine to carry out a publicly significant mission of ensuring the right to defense and providing professional legal assistance.

It is also noted that regional bar councils approached the UNBA with an initiative to review the composition of the working group, raising the issue of adequate representation of regional bar self-government bodies and consideration of the position of the bar community from all regions of the country.

«The lack of proper institutional representation of the bar in the formation of mechanisms for implementing the Roadmap does not comply with European standards regarding the role of professional organizations of advocates in the process of reforming the advocacy institution, - the BCU emphasized. - In particular, this contradicts the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (1990), which guarantee the self-governance of professional organizations of lawyers and their participation in the regulation of the profession, as well as Recommendation Rec (2000)21 on the freedom to exercise the profession of advocate, which provides for the need to ensure the proper role of professional associations of advocates in matters relating to the organization and functioning of the profession».

In view of the above, the appeal to the Cabinet of Ministers contains a proposal to review the composition of the working group in order to bring it into line with the Roadmap and ensure the principles of equality, parity, and proper institutional representation of advocacy.

To this end, it is proposed to ensure equal quantitative representation from each of the three implementers of the relevant point of the Roadmap: to include representatives of the bar association delegated by the UNBA and regional councils, as well as to appoint the President of the UNBA, BCU as co-chairs of the working group as leaders of one of the three entities implementing the Roadmap.