Attorneys are collecting signatures to unblock the Congress of Attorneys

The Congress of Attorneys of Ukraine may finally be held. At the congress, which was supposed to take place back in 2022, the head of the Bar Council of Ukraine (BCU) and the National Bar Association of Ukraine (NBAU), members of the BCU and other bar governance bodies were to be re-elected. However, its convening was blocked by the Bar Council itself, led by Lidiia Izovitova. The formal explanation is martial law. The real reason is obvious: the law prohibits electing Izovitova to a new term as head of the BCU and NBAU. As a result, Izovitova and her allies have effectively been in office for a third term, in violation of the law’s prohibition.

This week, attorney Dmytro Ostapenko called on colleagues to demand that the bar congress be held. The Law “On the Bar and Legal Practice” (Part 4, Art. 54) allows a congress to be convened upon the demand of one-tenth of the total number of attorneys included in the Unified Register of Attorneys of Ukraine. This is approximately 7,500 attorneys, and even attorneys who have suspended their bar certificates may sign the demand.

If this number of signatures is collected, it will demonstrate that within the legal community, there is a critical group of individuals who disagree with the usurpation of power within the bar and the glaring problems that have accumulated within it. It will also be an indicator that attorneys are capable of uniting and taking responsibility for change in their profession.

Why does this matter?

Ukraine must carry out a reform of the bar in order to accede to the EU. The changes must include a reset of self-governance bodies on the basis of a transparent procedure, addressing corruption risks, and ensuring the financial transparency of the bar.

At the same time, even if the required number of signatures is collected, the Bar Council controlled by Izovitova will most likely not convene the congress. Instead, the familiar excuse about the impossibility of holding a congress under martial law will be used, or other reasons will be found.

However, the law provides a procedure for this scenario as well. The attorneys who signed the demand may establish an organising bureau and independently ensure the convening and holding of the Congress of Attorneys of Ukraine.

Details on how attorneys can sign the demand are available at this link.