BCU canceled the decision of the Bar Council of Kyiv region on strike of advocates

The Bar Council of Ukraine canceled the decision of the Bar Council of Kyiv region on June 12, 2019, which proclaimed a warning strike of advocates in the region.

The BCU ruled the decision in the electronic session on June 13. Full text of the decision of BCU

The reason for the cancellation of the decision of the Bar Council of the Kyiv region was the violation as a result of its implementation of the constitutional rights of citizens to legal assistance and guarantees of advocacy.

The BCU stressed that the decision of the bodies of bar self-government should not be aimed at limiting or blocking the activities of advocates on motives not provided for in the framework law and professional conduct rules, groundless accusation of the Bar of Ukraine in the refusal to exercise protection of the constitutional rights of citizens of Ukraine and other persons.

In accordance with Article 21 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Bar and Advocacy" While practicing law, the attorney shall be obliged to abide by the oath of attorney of Ukraine and the professional conduct rules; the attorney may not The attorney may not exercise his/her rights contrary to the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of a client, except when otherwise established by law.

The obvious consequences of the decision taken by the Bar Council of Kyiv region on strike will be the violation of the constitutional right of citizens to professional legal assistance. At the same time, not only the clients of the advocates of the Kyiv oblast are at risk, but every resident of the region who may potentially need an advocate to defend his constitutional rights in a strike period.

The Bar Council of Ukraine stresses the inadmissibility of a situation where five thousand advocates in the region will be obliged to omit and refrain from providing legal assistance in the territory of the Kyiv region, and law enforcement and the courts will continue to perform their duties. Detention, searches, other procedural actions in the framework of criminal proceedings, court hearings, including ruling the court decisions, will take place in the absence of defenders involved in the strike", - referred to in the decision of the BCU.

The BCU also emphasized the strict observance by advocates of their professional obligations and the provision of continuous legal assistance to the client, as well as to keep advocates from exercising their rights in violation of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of the client, using the means and methods that are in conflict with the current legislation and professional conduct rules.

The decision of the Bar Council of the Kyiv region dated 12 June 2019, as reported on the website of the Bar Council, was made in connection with the beating of a lawyer, Nesvitailo Oleksii Mykolayovich on May 20, 2019. According to the information letter, "it was unanimously decided that, as a result of the strike for the period from June 20 to July 20, 2019, all the advocates of the Kyiv region will stop providing any legal assistance in criminal proceedings in the police, prosecutor's office, courts in the territory of Kiev region (except Kiev). The strike may be terminated earlier in case a suspicion will have been warranted to all the persons guilty of an offense concerning the advocate. " The Bar Council of the Kyiv region decided to inform about the decision taken by the territorial departments of the SJAU, the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyiv region, the prosecutor of the Kiev region, and others like that. Also, the corresponding decision will be brought to the leadership of the Coordination Center for the provision of free secondary legal aid in the Kiev region.