Lawyers from the regions will join the study of the efficiency and accessibility of justice

What is the reason for the length of time it takes for cases to be heard in Ukrainian courts today? Is this problem caused by lawyers who file «unnecessary» motions and challenges, and judges are unable to deal with them? How legitimate is it for judges to interfere with the competence of the disciplinary bodies of the Bar?

Answers to these and other questions of the effectiveness and accessibility of justice in Ukraine, as well as possible problems related to the violation of the principle of independence of the Bar, were discussed by the members of the Bar Council of Ukraine during the regular meeting held online on 23 October.

Lidiya Izovitova, the President of UNBA, reminded the audience of the content of the draft laws that have been prepared and are being considered today in connection with counteracting the «abuse» of procedural rights by lawyers.

In particular, we are talking about the draft Law No. 5661 of 14.06.2021 «On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine and Some Other Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Certain Provisions on Trial and Pre-trial Investigation», as well as the draft laws «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on the Issuance of a Special Ruling by a Higher Court» and «On Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine on the Issuance of a Special Ruling by an Investigating Judge or Court», prepared by MP Denys Maslov.

The general idea that unites these documents is an attempt to give judges additional powers related to the establishment of the fact of abuse of rights by a special ruling with subsequent punishment or transfer of decisions to the disciplinary bodies of the bar (the latter become «statisticians» in this case).

In reality, the problem is much broader. And the consequence of its distorted understanding will inevitably be a violation of the principle of independence of the Bar. The court cannot be a body that conducts disciplinary proceedings against an advocate, because only the qualification and disciplinary commissions of the Bar should assess the misconduct of advocates

L.Izovitova reminded that the UNBA has prepared a number of questions to find out the real causes of the problems of efficiency and accessibility of justice. She called on representatives of the regions of Ukraine to join this survey and share their own vision based on their experience in courts.