Page 44 - Report on the infringement of rights and guarantees of attorneys in Ukraine

MEASURES
TO OVERCOME

NEGATIVE TRENDS

PREVENTIVE MEASURES AGAINST VIOLATIONS OF ATTORNEYS' RIGHTS

AWARENESS-BUILDING

Holding of awareness-building events (workshops, round tables, training sessions, etc.)
for the legal community and government agencies: prosecutors, including the
Prosecutor-General's Office of Ukraine and its subdivisions, the Ministry of Internal
Affairs, courts, the Security Service of Ukraine, bodies of the State Fiscal Service,
specialised bodies such as the NABU, etc.
Creating an atmosphere for a person committing gross violations of attorneys’ rights
and other offences, which will make him understand that his employer-institution
cannot conceal his actions as contradicting the image of a civil servant.
Strengthening and intensifying cooperation between institutions and organisations
that support the profession of attorney , becoming a common political and public
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counterbalance to state authorities that tolerate the illegal treatment of attorneys by
their employees.
Systematic holding of joint events (conferences, round tables) and regular meetings
with the participation of attorneys, prosecutors, representatives of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs and judicial authorities to establish interaction, dispel the stereotype of
victory by representatives of the law-enforcement agencies in confrontations with
attorneys, which are perceived as the ultimate opponents, and instead make joint
efforts to establish the truth in a case.

LEGISLATIVE INITIATIVES

The expert potential of the legal community enables it to be involved, together with civil society
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institutions and political forces, in the improvement of the legislative framework regarding a wide
range of issues of legal regulation of social relations, in particular, the protection of the professional
rights and guarantees of attorneys:

The Law of Ukraine "On Free Legal Aid"

on the minimisation of the risks of using appointed attorneys for imitation of a fair trial may
become one of the areas of such activity;

Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine "On the Bar and Practice of Law"
in order to determine that a search of the attorney’s premises is only acceptable when an
attorney himself/herself is a suspect in a case; on the possibility of using attorney’s licence to
practice law as an ID; making changes to the impossibility of questioning an attorney as a
witness in cases in which the attorney is a defence counsel, except in cases where the attorney
himself/herself is actually suspected of committing an offence;

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