A bill implementing the Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer has been introduced

The constitutional guarantees of legal aid, defense, and the independence of advocacy cannot be realized without protecting advocates from unwarranted interference in their professional activities, including searches, the seizure of professional materials and the use of criminal procedural mechanisms to exert pressure.

To ensure Ukraine’s compliance with its international obligations, 27 members of parliament submitted to the Verkhovna Rada Draft Law No. 16106 dated September 28, 2026, «On amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and the Law of Ukraine «On the National Police’ in connection with the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer».

The purpose of the bill is to bring Ukrainian legislation into compliance with the Convention and to establish effective procedural guarantees for the independent practice of law in the interests of persons in need of professional legal assistance.

In particular, it is proposed to provide that in proceedings where an advocate is a suspect, defendant (accused), or civil defendant, and there are grounds to believe that the relevant proceedings are related to the advocate’s practice, no more than two representatives of the UNBA who have previously declared their intention to attend and who have signed a non-disclosure agreement regarding information that becomes known to them during the hearing shall have the right to be present during the court proceedings, including in closed court sessions.

The authors explain this proposal to amend Article 27 of the Code of Criminal Procedure by citing the need to comply with subparagraph «c» of paragraph 3 of Article 9 of the Convention and expect it to increase the transparency of proceedings against advocates.

Two additional amendments to the Code of Criminal Procedure concern the confidentiality of professional information, as guaranteed by paragraph 3 of Article 6 of the Convention. The development of digital technologies reinforces the need to protect lawyers’ files, computer systems, and data storage media from unwarranted access. Therefore, it is proposed to stipulate that attorney-client privilege also falls under the category of legally protected secrets contained in items and documents (Article 162(1) of the CPC). According to the authors’ reasoning, this addition to the list will ensure that the heightened standards for access to items and documents established in Chapter 15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure are applied to attorney-client privilege.

Access to an advocate’s computer systems or parts thereof, as well as physical or electronic data storage media, shall be granted in the presence of a representative of the regional bar association, and the relevant regional bar association shall be notified thereof. If a representative of the regional bar association fails to appear, such access shall be granted in his or her absence (Article 161 of the Code of Criminal Procedure).

It is proposed to include a new Article 482-3 in Chapter 37 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, dedicated to the specific procedures for bringing an advocate to criminal liability, detaining an advocate, imposing a preventive measure, and conducting investigative (search) and covert investigative (search) actions against an advocate.

According to this provision, the application of measures including covert investigative (search) activities that, in accordance with the law, restrict the rights and freedoms of an advocate, and the consideration of which falls within the jurisdiction of an investigating judge, must be approved by the Prosecutor General, his deputy, or the head of the regional prosecutor’s office within the scope of his or her authority.

During a search or inspection of an advocate’s residence, other property, or premises where the advocate practices law, or during temporary access to the advocate’s belongings and documents, a representative of the regional bar association must be present. The official conducting the procedural action must notify the bar association at the location where the action is taking place.

During such proceedings, the Bar Council representative has the right to ask questions, submit comments, and raise objections regarding the conduct of the proceedings, all of which must be recorded in the minutes. However, the representative’s failure to appear provided the regional Bar Council has been notified shall not prevent the relevant procedural action from proceeding.

The regional bar association must also be notified of the detention of an advocate. This obligation falls on the authority or official who detained the advocate. They must do so immediately, but no later than 24 hours after the detention.

Separate provisions govern the detention of the chairman of the UNBA, their deputies, or the head of the regional bar association: in such cases, the notification must be addressed to the UNBA or the relevant regional bar association, also immediately, within 24 hours.

It is envisaged that rulings resulting from the consideration of matters regarding authorization for detention, the imposition of a preventive measure in the form of pretrial detention or house arrest, a search, or the violation of the confidentiality of correspondence, telephone conversations, telegraphic and other communications, as well as on the application of other measures, including non-custodial investigative measures, may be appealed in the cases provided for by the Code of Criminal Procedure.

These provisions of the proposed Article 482-3 of the Code of Criminal Procedure implement paragraph 1 of Article 9 of the Convention and are consistent with the guarantees of Article 23 of the Law «On the advocacy and the practice of law».

The police, in turn, are proposed to be required to notify the regional bar association in writing of any attacks on advocates or their murders. The new Part Six of Article 25 of the Law «On the National Police» will define the conditions for such notification. The police will be required to notify the bar association of the relevant region in writing of any attacks on advocates or their murders if there are grounds to believe that such incidents occurred in connection with their professional activities, and these cases have not been made public in any other way and the lawyers are unable to report them to the relevant regional bar associations on their own.

The final provisions of the draft stipulate that the Law shall enter into force no earlier than the date on which the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer enters into force for Ukraine.