94% of respondents believe that the Bar reform is necessary and urgent – RPR survey
The reform of the Bar is urgent, the Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA) is not trusted, a unified Bar exam should be introduced, the professional development of attorneys should be de-monopolised, and disciplinary proceedings are not transparent and effective – this is the opinion of the majority of experts who have been surveyed by the Reanimation Package of Reforms (RPR) Coalition.
Recently, the RPR Coalition published a report on the survey results, in which 32 representatives of attorneys, the public, human rights activists and scholars participated. The survey aimed to examine the Bar’s current state and the vital measures for its reform. The report results confirm the issues we have previously discussed.
Almost 94% of respondents believe the Bar reform is necessary and urgent.
This figure correlates with the lack of trust in the UNBA, whose head, Lidiya Izovitova, has concentrated all powers within the Bar. None of the respondents pointed out that the public trusts the UNBA. Instead, 84% consider that the public does not trust the UNBA (43.8% – completely, 40.6% – partially). Moreover, 53% of the respondents stated that allowing bar associations other than the UNBA would contribute to improving the Bar bodies system.
Only 3% of respondents consider the current mechanism of admission to the profession transparent. At the same time, 50% of the surveyed experts deem this mechanism non-transparent, and almost 44% – partially transparent.
These results again confirm corruption schemes as a feature of the Bar exam, necessary for obtaining attorney status. Therefore, it is vital to introduce a unified and standardised Bar exam. This idea was supported by the vast majority (87%) of respondents. Experts believe that introducing interviews aiming at integrity vetting with aspiring attorneys will also increase the transparency of admission to the profession.
None of the respondents regard the current disciplinary procedures as transparent and effective. On the contrary, the vast majority (62.5%) consider this mechanism non-transparent and ineffective, and 31% – partially transparent and effective.
With regard to continuing professional development, almost 69% of respondents claim that the ‘artificial’ monopoly of the UNBA High School of Attorneys should be abolished at the legislative level. They expressed the need for professional development decentralisation: ‘to provide attorneys with autonomy to determine the ways of professional development and enable multiple providers to offer educational services’.
Analysing the answers to the question regarding the main issues and threats within the Bar, the RPR Coalition identified the following problems and threats:
- Usurpation of power by the UNBA leadership;
- Non-transparent and manipulative elections to the Bar governance bodies;
- Excessive attorneys’ dependence on the Bar bodies;
- Lack of accountability (in particular, financial) of the Bar governing bodies to attorneys;
- Mandatory membership in the UNBA for all attorneys, without the right to choose a bar association;
- No obligation to hold the Congress of Attorneys due to the need to elect members of the High Council of Justice or other pressing matters;
- The absence of a stance on attorneys in occupied territories who collaborate with the occupying authorities or have become attorneys in Russia;
- Use of the disciplinary procedure to persecute “inconvenient” lawyers;
- High level of corruption in the admission to the profession.
In general, the report highlights that the experts share the opinion of the European Commission and the G7 ambassadors on the need for the Bar reform. It also includes several recommendations aimed at enhancing the Bar bodies system, their accountability (including financial), and qualification and disciplinary procedures. Many issues within the Bar demand immediate legislative action, which is only possible with a proactive approach from the authorities.
