International Standards and European Experience in the Practice of Law

On November 26, 2019, the Institute of Legislation of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine hosted a roundtable discussion titled “Reforming Legislation on the Legal Profession and the Practice of Law: International Standards and European Experience.”

The event, organized jointly with the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy, was attended by scholars, members of parliament, leadership of the National Bar Association of Ukraine and the High Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of the Bar, Supreme Court justices, and representatives of the National Bar Association of Ukraine, as well as a number of law firms and bar associations.

In his opening remarks, Oleksandr Kopylenko, a Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine and Academician of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, highlighted the importance of international standards for the further development of Ukraine’s legal profession.

Lydia Izovitova, Chair of the National Bar Association of Ukraine and Honored Lawyer of Ukraine, emphasized the need to take the legal community’s position into account as amendments to the legislation governing the legal profession are further developed.

Serhiy Vilkov, Chair of the High Qualification Commission of the Bar, noted that existing provisions of Ukrainian law regarding the protection of attorneys are often not properly implemented in practice.

Serhiy Demchenko, a member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Legal Policy and a People’s Deputy, described the current legislative work aimed at improving the legislation governing the legal profession.

Taras Lamakh, a representative of the National Bar Association of Ukraine, noted the need to refine the provisions of the Code of Criminal Procedure in order to effectively ensure the realization of lawyers’ rights guaranteed by the legislation on the legal profession.

Supreme Court Justice and Professor Oleksandra Yanovska emphasized the need for attorneys to effectively exercise their own procedural rights and fulfill their obligations, while Iryna Vasylyk, Vice Rector of the Higher School of Advocacy, highlighted the need to strengthen cooperation between the National Bar Association of Ukraine and the Institute of Legislation in the areas of expert and scientific work on improving legislation governing the legal profession and procedural laws.

Professor Boris Babin, Chief Research Fellow at the Institute of Legislation, pointed out the insufficient implementation of international treaties and acts of international organizations, as defined in certain provisions of the legislation on the legal profession and the Rules of Professional Conduct for Attorneys.