The Ukrainian Bar Association (UBA) has issued a public statement in response to the growing number of incidents involving law enforcement interference in lawyers’ professional activities. The document highlights numerous violations that jeopardize the right to defense, the principles of adversarial proceedings, and the right to a fair trial.

In particular, over the past two months, the following incidents have been documented:

• serving notices of suspicion to attorneys in connection with the provision of legal assistance;

• conducting surveillance in a law firm’s office, resulting in breaches of attorney-client privilege;

• detaining a lawyer in a case where they acted as defense counsel;

• carrying out searches without a ruling by an investigating judge and without the presence of a representative of the Bar Council;

• seizing data storage devices containing information protected by attorney-client privilege.

Moreover, there has been a growing number of instances of informational pressure exerted on lawyers through media and social networks, which discredits the defense and undermines the presumption of innocence.

The UBA reminds that the Constitution of Ukraine enshrines the Bar as the sole professional institution for legal assistance. Guarantees of the independence of legal practice are also provided by the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, the Law of Ukraine “On the Bar and Legal Practice,” and the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine.

The statement emphasizes that professional guarantees for lawyers are not privileges, but instruments for protecting human rights. Their sole purpose is to ensure that lawyers can provide legal assistance, uphold human rights, and prevent the usurpation of power. Violating these guarantees endangers not only the effective functioning of the justice system in Ukraine, but may also have serious international repercussions.

Ukraine is a candidate for accession to the European Union, and the issues of adherence to the rule of law, ensuring a fair trial, and maintaining the independence of the legal profession are key components in the European Commission’s annual progress assessments. Therefore, violations of lawyers’ professional rights may negatively impact the EU accession negotiations, hinder Ukraine’s fulfillment of its international obligations, and obstruct its path to EU membership.

In light of the above, the UBA declares that the current situation poses a serious threat to the administration of justice in Ukraine and calls on:

• The heads of the NABU, SBI, SSU, Bureau of Economic Security, and the National Police — to immediately cease any interference in legal practice and to strictly adhere to the Constitution of Ukraine, international law, and national legislation concerning lawyers’ professional rights and guarantees;

• Media representatives — to respect the presumption of innocence and the right to defense, to refrain from equating lawyers with their clients, and to uphold the highest standards of journalistic ethics;

• The Office of the Prosecutor General — to exercise proper procedural oversight over the actions of pre-trial investigation bodies in terms of ensuring the right to defense, and to guarantee full compliance with the protections afforded to lawyers.

The full text of the statement is available at the following link.