UNBA representatives attended a meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy

Oleksiy Yushchenko, Chairman of the Committee on Legislative Initiatives on Law, Oleksandr Drozdov, former member of the Supreme Judicial Council of Ukraine, and Vadim Krasnik, Head of the UNBA Secretariat, participated in the meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Policy.

The agenda of the Committee provided for the preliminary approval of the Bill on Amendments to the Constitution of Ukraine (abolishing the lawyer's monopoly), the Register. No. 1013. The Constitutional Court issued a conclusion on the conformity of the Constitution with this legislative initiative; several judges of the CCU expressed their views on this conclusion.

UNBA representatives conveyed to the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee the position of the Bar on the need to preserve the provisions on the exclusive right of lawyers to represent the courts in the Constitution. " The right to professional legal assistance is both a human right and a constitutional guarantee of justice. Yes, it does not withstand any criticism of the understanding of the so-called "lawyer monopoly" - as "privileges", advantages, etc. It is no coincidence that, of all types of legal assistance, the professional assistance of a lawyer is directly governed by the constitutional and international human rights law. Based on the above, the constitutional right to professional (qualified) legal assistance should be considered as one of the main elements and a guarantee in the mechanism of exercising the right of a person to judicial protection (Article 55 of the Constitution of Ukraine), "- reads in a position document of UNBA.

Bill No. 1013 contravenes Part Three of Article 22, Part One of Article 157 of the Constitution of Ukraine, as it narrows the content and scope of existing rights under Articles 55, 59 of the Constitution of Ukraine, thereby restricting human rights in Ukraine. An exception in this context is the second subparagraph of paragraph 11-1, paragraph 1, of the Transitional Provisions, which requires special attention of the Constitutional Court of Ukraine and Article 92 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Constitutional Court of Ukraine" gives the right to do so.

 During the discussion, Oleksandr Drozdov stressed that having the Constitutional Court's opinion only opens the possibility for further consideration of the bill in parliament, and is not a guarantee or an obligation to pass it.

Address to the Chairman of the Committee on Legal Policy