Everyone deserves protection, the Bar fulfills this requirement of the Constitution

The formation of the opinion in society that lawyers somehow choose their clients incorrectly because some people are not worthy of defense is a very dangerous phenomenon for the state. In the future, our enemies can use it against Ukraine.

Lidia Izovitova, the president of the Ukrainian National Bar Association and Bar Council of Ukraine, stated this in her speech at the Iosyp Bronz Forum on Criminal Law and Procedure in Odesa.

Thus, among the problems of the functioning of the Bar under martial law, she mentioned the attempts of some people to level the defense function and the protective principle in general. This refers to cases when lawyers are harassed through the media for providing legal assistance to those who are not supposed to be defended, namely, traitors, prisoners of war, military personnel, officials of the Ministry of Defense, suspects of corruption crimes, etc. Such an attitude is a clear violation of human rights guaranteed by the Ukrainian Constitution.

We want to remind you that one of the guarantees of the practice of law enshrined in the Law «On the Bar and Practice of Law» is the prohibition of identifying a lawyer with a client. But today, there are numerous cases of violation of this guarantee. The UNBA believes this poses a threat to the functioning of the Bar and the development of Ukraine as a state governed by the rule of law. International partners are also paying attention to this problem. The Verkhovna Rada supported the UNBA's initiative to establish administrative liability for violating the prohibition on identifying a lawyer and a client. The relevant draft law was registered in the Parliament on May 21 under No. 11279.

Another challenge of today, Ms. Izovitova said, is the reservation from conscription to the army of attorneys. Despite numerous appeals of the association to fellow MPs and legislative proposals, the final version of Law No. 3633-IX of 11.04.2024, «On Amendments to Certain Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Certain Issues of Military Service, Mobilization and Military Registration», left out the advocates from the professions entitled to reservation.

The UNBA president noted that the state provided for the reservation of judges, prosecutors, pre-trial investigation, and law enforcement officers but left out advocates, who are also part of the justice system under the Constitution. This actually jeopardizes the proper functioning of one of the branches of government.

Lawyers perform a crucial constitutional function of protecting Ukrainian citizens in the state. The Constitution guarantees everyone the right to professional legal assistance. In cases provided for by law, this assistance is free. This right, enshrined in Article 59 of the Basic Law, is not subject to restrictions, even under martial law. For the proper realization of this right, Ukraine has the institution of the Bar. Only a lawyer can represent another person in court and provide a defense against criminal charges.

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 lawyers as persons who are part of the organization of the justice system.