The Council of Europe Convention will strengthen constitutional guarantees of human rights – M. Stavniychuk

The exclusive right of an advocate to represent another person in court, as enshrined in the Constitution, should be viewed as an integral part of the mechanism for protecting human rights in Ukraine. Furthermore, ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer could strengthen the substance of this and other guarantees.

Marina Stavniychuk, chairman of the UNBA Committee on the rule of law, made this statement during the roundtable discussion «The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer: a future part of Ukrainian legislation», which was recently held in Kyiv.

As a reminder, the Convention was adopted on March 12, 2025, and opened for signature on May 13 of the same year. On March 9, 2026, Ukraine became the 28th state to sign this international treaty. Preparations are currently underway for the ratification package and the legislative amendments necessary to implement the document.

According to M. Stavniychuk, the significance of this international treaty extends beyond the professional legal community, as it concerns mechanisms for the protection of human rights and reinforces the substance of constitutional provisions related to the administration of justice. These provisions are intended to ensure that advocacy can fully fulfill its obligations to clients by protecting their rights, freedoms and legitimate interests.

The representative of the UNBA emphasized that there are no constitutional obstacles to the ratification of the document. «The provisions of the Convention clearly correspond to those of the current Constitution of Ukraine; they enrich them with new meaning, expanding and deepening them. This is a key point that makes the ratification process feasible», - she noted.

Following ratification, according to the speaker, the Constitutional Court will have to take into account the Convention’s provisions regarding the legal position on the exclusive representation of another person in court by an advocate, as enshrined in the Constitution.

According to Article 131-2 of the Constitution, only an advocate may represent another person in court and defend them against criminal charges. M. Stavniychuk proposed evaluating this provision in light of its role within the «triangle» of justice. She recalled that she had participated in drafting the relevant constitutional amendments, and, according to her, these amendments were intended to ensure the advocacy profession’s rightful place in the mechanism for protecting human rights and to balance the state prosecution and the defense in judicial and pretrial proceedings.

M. Stavniychuk also urged that ratification not be delayed so that Ukraine would be among the first countries to ratify the Convention and have the opportunity to be represented in the future monitoring body of the Convention — the Group of Experts on the Protection of the Advocate's Profession (GRAVO).

The mechanism provided for by the Convention will make it possible to professionally assess the state’s compliance with its requirements and the activities of the legal profession. According to the chairman of the UNBA Committee on the rule of law, this also has political significance for Ukraine in its relations with the Council of Europe and the European Union.