The Constitution is the same in TCCs and outside them, - the Secretary of the BCU on the rules for lawyers

The Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are working to eliminate shortcomings in the work of territorial recruitment and social support centers. In particular, they want to create rules for lawyers who defend people liable for military service.

Vitaliy Sarantsev, a spokesman for the Land Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, shared these plans in an interview with Hromadske.

«For example, we are now initiating (and we have already had the first meeting with the Ukrainian Bar Association) the development of clear rules for lawyers and military personnel of the military commissariat», - he said, speaking about establishing a dialogue between the military and society.

«It should be noted that there are both certain abuses by lawyers and a certain misunderstanding of their work by the representatives of the TCC, - explained V. Sarantsev. – «That is why we are now developing such common rules that are understandable to all. But it is important to emphasize that these rules must be followed by both parties».

The military official also repeated this thesis on Radio Liberty: «We also want to prescribe rules for this category that protect the rights of persons liable for military service on certain issues. We also need to put things in order, to prescribe a certain set of rules. And these rules, of course, should be binding on both sides. Because there are certain unacceptable situations that, unfortunately, lead to conflicts. We have already had preliminary meetings with representatives of the National Bar Association. There we expressed our desire to take these steps, we received support from them, and now we are jointly developing these rules that will allow us to streamline this process», - he said.

However, the National Bar Association of Ukraine, which by law represents the Ukrainian bar in relations with the state authorities, has not heard of such an initiative. No meetings on this issue have been held either.

«According to the Constitution, everyone has the right to professional legal assistance. And the bar operates to provide it. This constitutional human right has not been restricted and is fully effective even during martial law, - said Ihor Kolesnikov, Secretary of the Bar Council of Ukraine. - And, as far as I know, the Constitution of Ukraine, as well as the rights guaranteed by it, are the same in the premises of any TCC and outside it».

The UNBA representative does not see the need to develop any additional rules of conduct for attorneys. After all, everything is sufficiently regulated by the law, which must simply be followed.

«The work of a lawyer, his or her rights and obligations are fully regulated by the Law «On the Bar and Practice of Law». It also clearly defines the disciplinary procedure in case a lawyer violates the law or the Rules of Professional Conduct, - said I. Kolesnikov. - Today, qualification and disciplinary commissions of the Bar monitor compliance with the rules common to all lawyers. And they can be contacted by anyone who knows the facts of unethical behavior of our colleagues».

«So let's just comply with the current rules and respect the rights and legitimate interests of persons liable for military service», - summarized the Secretary of the BCU.

The relevant letter of clarification on these issues was also sent to the Land Forces Command.

As a reminder, Lidiya Izovitova, the President of the UNBA, BCU spoke about the problems of lawyers' activities under martial law during her speech at the International Human Rights Conference «Decade 2014-2024. Winning back human rights. Preserving Democracy». She spoke about the existing practice of preventing lawyers from seeing citizens in TCCs or blocking their work, detaining lawyers, serving summonses while performing their professional duties, and intimidation. At the same time, some TCCs consider themselves «territories without the bar» because police and investigative teams do not even visit them.

However, the TCCs themselves refuse to acknowledge any problems with the provision of legal aid by lawyers during mobilization.