President is urged to book lawyers (petition)

To include lawyers, free legal aid workers, public and private bailiffs in the list of persons entitled to deferment and reservation for the period of mobilization.

This electronic petition was registered on the website of the President of Ukraine on May 28. As of today, it has gained almost 2.5 thousand votes out of 25 thousand required.

The author of the initiative notes that the Constitution of Ukraine establishes the right of everyone to professional legal assistance. In cases provided for by law, this assistance is provided free of charge. To provide professional legal aid in Ukraine, there is an advocacy bar, whose independence is guaranteed, and free legal aid workers. Along with other state bodies and institutions of the justice system, it is quite natural and necessary to include bodies and persons that enforce court decisions and decisions of other bodies.

After all, only a lawyer can represent another person in court and defend against criminal charges. The law provides for the reservation of judges, prosecutors, employees of pre-trial investigation and law enforcement agencies, persons working in courts, other state bodies and institutions of the justice system. At the same time, lawyers who are also part of the justice system are not subject to reservation.

You can support the petition on the reservation of attorneys by following the link.

The Ukrainian National Bar Association has repeatedly expressed the position that the procedure for reserving persons liable for military service, as defined by Article 25 of the Law «On Mobilization Training and Mobilization», should provide for the reservation of advocates as persons who are part of the organization of the justice system. After all, the activities of the Bar under martial law are of utmost importance.

Firstly, the Ukrainian Bar performs functions to ensure vital national interests as defined by Articles 55 and 59 of the Constitution.

Secondly, the failure to include the Bar in the system of judicial bodies and institutions causes significant damage to the social sphere, as it leads to the destruction of the social protection system in terms of providing legal aid to vulnerable groups of the population and other citizens, including military personnel.

Thirdly, the lack of reservation of lawyers will have a negative impact on all sectors of life support, especially on the activities of the justice system and law enforcement agencies, as it makes it impossible for the state to fulfill its functions and eliminates the rule of law and legality.

Fourthly, the narrowing or violation of the rights and guarantees of the practice of law through the mass mobilization of lawyers will cause significant damage to the normal living conditions of citizens who will not be able to exercise the right to defense, equality and competition, and the right to a fair trial. This is unacceptable in a state governed by the rule of law and in the European Union.