System failures are piling up at the FLA — an opinion

The situation in the legal aid system is deteriorating critically. Changes in this area are being adopted without taking into account the position of the bar association, even though these are regulations that directly affect the conditions under which advocates practice and the quality of the professional legal aid they provide.

This was emphasized by chairman of the UNBA Committee on FLA Oksana Kadenko during a meeting of the Bar Council of Ukraine on April 2, which reviewed the status and current issues regarding the functioning of the FLA system.

During 2024–2025, the UNBA twice appealed to the government with a proposal to create a joint working group involving the UNBA, as well as representatives of the Cabinet of Ministers and the Ministry of Justice, to address shortcomings in the regulation of FLA; however, consideration of these appeals was delegated to the Ministry of Justice. However, changes to legislation prepared without the involvement of the advocacy association sometimes violate the rights and guarantees of the legal profession. This negatively impacts the quality of legal aid provided and, consequently, the protection of citizens’ rights.

As an example, the Committee chairman presented an advocate’s appeal regarding changes to the procedure for calculating compensation for FLA attorneys. Following the reduction of the reporting period from 90 to 45 days, a reduction factor down to zero may be applied for failure to submit reports. The Committee believes that in the context of war, blackouts, shelling, and disruptions in the work of courts and other agencies, this approach fails to account for the actual circumstances on which the timely submission of reports depends. For this reason, it was proposed to file a petition with the administrative court requesting that the relevant act be declared unlawful and invalid.

The second case involved a lawyer who received a client’s instruction to prepare documents to initiate criminal and disciplinary proceedings against employees of the FLA with which she had a contract. Believing that a conflict of interest had arisen under these circumstances, she stated that she could no longer carry out this instruction. However, the center refused to cease providing assistance and insisted on the need to uphold the principle of continuity of assistance. The Committee noted that the issue of a conflict of interest falls within the advocate’s own competence, and preventing such a conflict takes precedence over the principle of continuity in the provision of legal aid. At the same time, ensuring such continuity is the responsibility of the relevant center and cannot be shifted to the advocate.

During the discussion, a proposal was also made to address the issues regarding the functioning of the FLA system in a broader context, involving the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, members of parliament, and other stakeholders. The President of the UNBA, BCU Lidiya Izovitova supported the idea of such a specialized event, after which other members of the bar self-governing body also voted in favor of it.