Inaction Towards Collaborators and the Hunt for Independent Attorneys: In Whose Interests Do the Bar Bodies Act?

Hundreds of attorneys who openly collaborate with the Russian occupation authorities and even head their Bar associations remain in the register of Ukrainian attorneys. Meanwhile, the Bar Council of Ukraine (BCU) and Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA), led by Lidia Izovitova and Valentyn Hvozdiy, have taken an entirely passive stance towards them.

A good example of actions in Russia’s interests is the delay in considering complaints against the pro-Kremlin propagandist and attorney Tetiana Montian by the Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of Attorneys (QDCA) of Zhytomyr region. This QDCA has been unable to consider this case for almost 1.5 years (!), allegedly due to a lack of quorum and air raid alerts.

In February 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine announced suspicion of Montian for crimes against national security under four articles of the Criminal Code. By appearing on Russian TV channels and posting her videos on YouTube, Montian actively promotes Russian propaganda. She approves Russia’s armed invasion of Ukraine and appeals for our national border changes.

Perhaps the traitor Montian’s presence in the register of Ukrainian attorneys does not concern the Zhytomyr QDCA nor the heads of the bar, Izovitova and Hvozdiy. The latter see an incompatibility of legal practice and military service in the Armed Forces of Ukraine, but apparently not with collaborationism.

The UNBA is actively pursuing disciplinary action against attorney and military serviceman Illia Kostin for his publications,  in particular, “Enemy Among Us. Parts 2 and 3.” He argues that the leaders of the Ukrainian Bar and its disciplinary bodies are likely acting in the interests of pro-Russian forces, as they have refused for years to hold responsible over 300 attorneys listed in the attorneys’ register of the so-called “DNR” and one of them Olena Radomska even became the “minister of justice of the DNR.” Radomska is on the sanctions lists of the US and Ukraine. However, Izovitova and Hvozdiy do not consider this sufficient grounds to annul her attorney’s license.

The UNBA filed a complaint against Kostin with the Kyiv QDCA in February 2024. Just two months later, it decided that this QDCA was delaying the consideration of the complaint against Kostin and filed a complaint about the inaction of the Kyiv QDCA with the High Qualification and Disciplinary Commission of the Attorneys (HQDCA), chaired by Izovitova’s associate Serhiy Vylkov. On June 27, the HQDCA upheld the UNBA’s complaint and stated the Kyiv QDCA’s inaction. Would HQDCA have recognised the Zhytomyr QDCA’s inaction regarding the Montian case?

By the way, through its representatives, the UNBA filed 10 complaints against Illia Kostin for his critical publications and social media posts. This is because Izovitova and Hvozdiy, in a distinctly Russian manner, do not tolerate any dissent or criticism within the Bar. Consequently, the Bar Council, controlled by them, approved a provision stating that public “criticism of the activities, decisions, election process, or members” of Bar bodies violates attorney ethics.

Furthermore, the complaints against Kostin are not the first attempt of the Bar authorities to hold attorneys accountable for actions unrelated to their legal practice. For instance, Andriy Vyshnevskyi and Valeriia Kolomiets were disbarred due to their activities as officials of the Ministry of Justice responsible for the free legal aid system. Specifically, Kolomiets obstructed attempts by Izovitova and Hvozdiy to obtain direct access to the hundreds of millions allocated from the state budget for free legal aid.

In summary, the inaction towards collaborators and the hunt for independent attorneys by the Bar disciplinary bodies controlled by Izovitova and Hvozdiy raise concern. This reaffirms the position of the European Commission and the G7 ambassadors regarding the urgency of Bar reform. The Bar self-governance bodies need a reboot and cleansing. Effective filters must be established to prevent individuals who act in Russian interests from getting into the reformed Bar bodies.