Assistance provided to families of two lawyers killed in the war
The UNBA Board of Trustees held a regular meeting. The Board considered 6 applications from advocates who found themselves in difficult life circumstances due to the military operations in Ukraine.
The meeting was held online on 31 August 2023.
The legal community continues to lose its colleagues in the war. Two more lawyers from Cherkasy and Volyn were killed in the combat zone. The latter was a member of the attestation chamber of the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Advocates of Volyn region in 2006-2012. The UNBA Board of Trustees supported their families by providing UAH 100 thousand of financial assistance.
The funds were also transferred to three lawyers for treatment. In particular, one of them is a lawyer from Kharkiv, who has applied to the UNBA Board of Trustees for the second time. In February 2022, while serving in the ranks of the terrorist defence, he sustained a gunshot wound. In June of this year, the lawyer tripped a mine, which resulted in the amputation of his shin. Other lawyers are a lawyer from Zhytomyr, who was also seriously injured in the combat zone and has been undergoing hospital treatment since April this year, and a lawyer from Kharkiv, who needs expensive treatment for cancer.
In addition, a lawyer and single mother from Donetsk region was supported. As a result of rocket attacks, she and her son sustained concussions and her house was damaged.
In total, since the UNBA Board of Trustees was established, more than 500 applications from advocates have been considered.
Popular news
Legislation
The path to ratification of the Convention must not end in yet another delay — L. Izovitova
Ukraine’s preparations for the ratification of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer have already passed key stages. Now, government institutions must submit the matter to the Verkhovna Rada for consideration. In doing so, Ukraine may complete the ratification process faster than EU member states.
Guarantees of the practice of law
Ukraine could be the first to implement a European mechanism for the protection of advocates. What’s holding it back?
Ukraine has a chance to be the first country to ratify the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer. Political support for this exists, but the government’s legislative package has not yet been submitted to parliament. Meanwhile, the number of violations of advocates’ rights is on the rise.
Educational events
How can an advocate verify that work has been completed if the client refuses to sign the report?
When billing by the hour, the primary document for determining the fee may be a detailed report on the time spent by the advocate and the work performed. To prevent the client from withholding payment, the contract should specify in advance the procedure for submitting and approving such a report.
Self-government
The BCU took note of the public appeal from the HCJ
The Bar Council of Ukraine has determined that, given the current security situation, it is objectively impossible to hold, in accordance with the procedure established by the Law «On the advocacy and the practice of law», meetings of advocates, regional conferences of advocates and the Congress of Ukrainian Advocates, including for the purpose of electing two members of the High Council of Justice under the quota allocated to the Congress of Ukrainian Advocates.
War
The BCU has launched a digital project «Wall of Remembrance and Honor»
The Bar Council of Ukraine has adopted a resolution to launch the digital project «Wall of Remembrance and Honor». To this end, the UNBA is beginning to collect information on advocates and paralegals who lost their lives as a result of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression against Ukraine.
Interaction
Energy law: the UNBA and the ADMGE have agreed to cooperate
Advocates will deepen their professional expertise in the field of energy law, and participants in the distributed and flexible generation market will have greater opportunities to obtain professional legal assistance.
Educational events
Where does an advocate's time go and what do they get in return
To assess balance in life, it’s worth identifying the areas where the most effort, time, and money are directed, and then determining what a person receives in return: income, respect, support, love, a sense of significance or the fulfillment of an important idea.
Court practice
The SC has clarified the different ways to respond to a lawyer's request that is ignored
If there is no response to an advocate’s request, the advocate has the right to file a petition with the Bar Association to hold the person administratively liable. An advocate may challenge the failure to provide information necessary for the provision of legal assistance on behalf of the client, rather than in their own name.
Publications
Volodymyr Matsko Extradition during wartime: when the risks outweigh the request
Volodymyr Matsko Extradition as a systemic form of rights violations
Victoria Yakusha, Law and Business The anti-corruption vertical cannot «take care» of the Bar as an institution, - acting head of the HQDCB
Censor.net Protecting advocates – protecting justice: addressing concerns about the new law
Ihor Kolesnykov A BRIEF SUMMARY REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE ORDER ON EXTENDED CONFISCATION IN LATVIA REGARDING FINANCIAL ASSETS OF…
Valentyn Gvozdiy WORKING IN A WAR ZONE
Lydia Izovitova Formula of perfection
Sergiy Vylkov Our judicial system is so built that courts do not trust advocates