Guarantees for advocacy without protective measures: proposed changes to the codes

The current law sets forth the rights and guarantees of the legal profession, but lacks the tools to protect them. The future law on advocacy is intended to fill this gap through amendments to criminal, administrative and procedural legislation.

This was discussed by members of the UNBA working group on the implementation of the of the Rule of Law Roadmap during a meeting on October 13, 2026.

According to the President of the UNBA, BCU Lidiya Izovitova the focus is on a comprehensive model for modernizing the advocacy profession in accordance with the objectives set forth in the Roadmap. The proposals are being discussed with European partners, in particular with the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE). The President of the UNBA, BCU emphasized the fundamental principle: the independence of advocates is not a corporate privilege of the profession, but a necessary condition for ensuring the human right to defense, legal aid and a fair trial.

For their part, European colleagues stress above all that the future law must comply with the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Advocate. The Vice President of the UNBA, BCU Valentin Gvozdiy noted that the ratification process for this treaty is ongoing in Ukraine. According to him, the correct sequence is as follows: first, ratify the Convention, which embodies European standards, and only then adopt a law that complies with it. Reversing this order, as noted by European partners, would be akin to attempting to measure something before the measuring tool has been approved.

The chairman of the Committee on the protection of advocates’ professional rights and the implementation of guarantees for the practice of law of the Odesa Regional Bar Association Vadym Semenov provided further details on the guarantees for the practice of law. He identified three levels of protection for the rights and guarantees of the legal profession. The speaker focused on the third level, which does not yet exist. «The rights and guarantees are already in the current law, and they are very good, but we lack the tools to protect them», - he explained. Therefore, it is proposed to amend the Code of Administrative Offenses, the Code of Criminal Procedure and the Criminal Code through transitional provisions.

According to V. Semenov, the legislation will be supplemented with articles on administrative liability for publicly identifying an advocate with a client and for obstructing an advocate from exercising their rights during procedural actions. This refers, in particular, to the unlawful restriction of the right to use technical recording devices, denial of access to a client, and violations of the procedure for searches or inspections. Reports on such violations must be drawn up by regional bar associations.

Criminal procedural legislation should contain a separate article defining the procedure for searching an advocate. It will require mandatory advance notification of the regional bar association. Materials that may contain attorney-client privilege will be sealed, and the prosecution will not be able to review their contents. Subsequently, the investigating judge, with the assistance of experts if necessary, will determine whether the prosecution will have access to them. Separately, Article 87 of the Code of Criminal Procedure should specify that evidence collected in violation of an advocate’s rights and the guarantees of legal practice shall be deemed inadmissible.

The Speaker also described the procedure by which an advocate may challenge, during the pretrial investigation, actions by an investigator or prosecutor that violate his or her rights and guarantees. To this end, the powers of the investigating judge and the consequences of his or her decisions should be clarified.

Furthermore, according to V. Semenov, the provision of the Criminal Code regarding interference in an advocate’s activities must be made more specific.

As a reminder, the Roadmap on the Rule of Law, approved by Decree No. 475-r of the Cabinet of Ministers dated May 14, 2025, provides for the drafting and adoption in the fourth quarter of 2026 of a law to improve the legal regulation of the legal profession, bringing legislation on advocacy and acts of bar self-governance into line with European standards. The Ministry of Justice, the Verkhovna Rada, and the UNBA have been designated as co-implementers of this measure.

The UNBA’s working group on implementing the Roadmap, which was established by Resolution No. 125 of the BCU dated December 12, 2025, with the participation of members of parliament who are members of the Committee on Legal Policy, is finalizing work on the draft.

Some ideas for the future law on advocacy were presented in Brussels on October 1.