Revised procedures for the professional development of advocates

An advocate’s failure to fulfill the obligation to undergo professional development within the established timeframes constitutes a continuing disciplinary offense. This obligation does not cease upon the expiration of the reporting year and must be fulfilled until electronic certificates of professional development are obtained.

At its meeting on May 1–2, held in Khmelnytskyi region, the Bar Council of Ukraine amended the Procedure for professional development of advocates of Ukraine, approved by Resolution No. 63 dated July 3, 2021.

It was also established that an advocate’s failure to fulfill the obligation to improve professional competence for each reporting calendar year constitutes an independent ongoing disciplinary offense. A continuing disciplinary offense ceases from the moment the advocate remedies the breach of the duty to improve professional competence by fulfilling the legally established duty to improve professional competence for the years in which he or she failed to do so.

The statute of limitations for bringing an advocate to disciplinary liability for failure to fulfill the duty to improve professional competence, as provided for in Part 2 of Article 35 of the Law «On the advocacy and the practice of law», is calculated from the date of termination of such a continuing disciplinary offense.

Previously, clarifications of similar content regarding certain provisions of the Procedure for the professional development of advocates of Ukraine were provided in the decision of the BCU dated June 7, 2024, No. 22.

In accordance with the Law «On advocacy and the practice of law», while practicing law, an advocate is obligated to improve their professional competence (Part 1 of Article 21). Maintaining a high professional standard among advocates is one of the tasks of bar self-governance (Part 1 of Article 44), which is ensured by the Ukrainian National Bar Association (Part 2 of Article 45). Failure to perform or improper performance of professional duties constitutes a disciplinary offense by an advocate (Part 2 of Article 34).