The statements claiming the support of the draft law №9055 of the Council of Europe are based on the expert report of 2017 - BCU

There was no official assessment of the draft law given by the Council of Europe, therefore the statements claiming that the draft law №9055 “On the Bar and Advocacy” had been approved by the Council of Europe are untrue.

It is stated in the Bar Council of Ukraine Resolution on the inadmissibility of the draft law based on the ruination of the institute of human rights protection and loss of international credibility of Ukraine.

"In fact, the assessment of the document at the stage of its elaboration was carried out in the report of the Council of Europe experts on the draft law "On the Bar and Advocacy" and other related legislative acts of Ukraine back in December 2017," - the statement said.

The Expert Report was implemented within the framework of the Council of Europe project "Support to the implementation of judicial reform in Ukraine". The first page of the report states that the views outlined in this report belong to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Council of Europe. Consequently, the report of the experts of the draft Council of Europe is not an official conclusion of the Council of Europe. In addition, the mandate of the experts provided for an assessment of the draft version of the draft law for compliance with the minimum European standards. The experts also did not analyze the current law on the Bar, adopted in accordance with the Venice Commission conclusions dated of 2011, and the fulfillment of the conditions of the future EU-Ukraine Association Agreement.

"At the moment, we see how reform of the Ukrainian Bar was transformed into a back door game. And in it some politicians do not shy away from using the authority of European institutions for their own purposes, but contrary to the interests of Ukraine. Such things are clearly inadmissible and can have negative consequences for the state at the international level", - as referred to in the BCU Resolution of November 21, 2018.

The BCU Resolution also mentions the fact that during the preparation of this document, Council of Europe experts excluded consultations with the Ukrainian National Bar Association as an official representative of the Bar, which directly contradicts European and international standards.

The Venice Commission gives real conclusions on the compliance of the drafts with the standards of the Council of Europe. Therefore, UNBA, on October 22, 2018, appealed to the President of Ukraine regarding the submission of his draft law № 9055 to the Venice Commission for a comprehensive assessment of its compliance with European standards. Answers are still not provided.

Due to the numerous restrictions on the advocates’ rights and the corruption risks of the draft law, the BCU urges the people's deputies to not support this document.

"The consequences of the adoption of the draft law № 9055 will be the deterioration of the international image of Ukraine, the actual impossibility of implementing international agreements and treaties, in particular the Association Agreement with the European Union, the loss of positions in international ratings of democracy and investment attractiveness of Ukraine," - the BCU Resolution says.

The Bar Council of Ukraine during the meeting on January 15, 2017, adopted an Open Statement on the Draft Law "On Amendments to the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Advocacy" (new edition) and other related legislative acts of Ukraine", which concerned the shortcomings of the Expert Report of the Council of Europe.