Police to investigate the NACP's attempts to reform advocacy

The Office of the Prosecutor General has opened a criminal investigation into alleged abuse of power by employees of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention.

The criminal case is registered under No. 42026000000000480. The preliminary legal classification is Part 1 of Article 364 (abuse of power or official position) of the Criminal Code. The pre-trial investigation has been entrusted to investigators from the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv.

This concerns circumstances related to the preparation of the draft Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2026–2030, which included the section «The advocacy and legal aid». At the end of 2025, the NACP even organized a public discussion of this draft regarding advocacy. Among other things, NACP representatives stated that, in accordance with the Roadmap on the Rule of Law, approved by Cabinet of Ministers Order No. 475-r of May 14, 2025, the state is allegedly obligated to intervene in the activities of 16 institutions, a list that includes advocacy.

The Bar Council of Ukraine immediately called this position a distortion of the document’s content. The initiatives proposed by the NACP were described as direct, gross, and systematic interference by an executive authority in the activities of an independent constitutional institution.

Separately, a criminal complaint was filed by the chairman of the UNBA Committee on information policy and media relations Yuriy Radzievsky.

He cited the Comprehensive analysis of key issues in the field of «The advocacy and legal aid», which served as the basis for the relevant section of the draft Anti-Corruption Strategy. In this document, advocacy is presented as a sector with a high level of corruption risks, and the proposed measures directly concern the internal organization of advocacy. Specifically, these include issues of bar self-governance, the self-financing system, procedures for obtaining advocate status, personnel selection, professional development, and other aspects of the profession’s operation.

However, according to the Law «On the advocacy and the practice of law», such matters fall within the scope of the bar’s self-governance, which independently resolves issues regarding the organization and activities of the profession in accordance with the procedures established by law. Furthermore, the independence of the bar is guaranteed by the Constitution.

«This situation is not about a professional discussion regarding anti-corruption policy. The problem is that advocacy has effectively been portrayed as a sector with high levels of corruption risks, opaque financial management, and widespread practices of misconduct. Such a generalized and negative portrayal of an independent constitutional institution affects the reputation of bar self-governing bodies, undermines public trust in the profession as a whole, and diminishes its prestige. Moreover, the NACP has no legal authority to reform the advocacy sector, - noted Y. Radzievsky. – That is precisely why the circumstances outlined in the statement must be verified within the framework of a pre-trial investigation».

The open statement by the Bar Council of Ukraine regarding unconstitutional attempts to politicize the legal profession and the interference of the National Agency for Corruption Prevention in the activities of the self-governing professional community can be viewed at this link.

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