Publicly equating a lawyer with a client to whom such a lawyer provides professional legal assistance will become an administrative offense, and forms of interference in the activities of a lawyer, the responsibility for which is provided for in Article 397 of the Criminal Code, are detailed.
On the eve of July 16, the Verkhovna Rada adopted in full the Law “On Amendments to the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code of Ukraine to Ensure Compliance with Guarantees of Legal Activity of Lawyers”.
The National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine welcomes this decision of the parliament, as it allows to establish a clear mechanism for responding to violations of lawyers’ rights and guarantees of activity, in particular – in cases of pressure, public discredit, and equating with clients, which contradicts the principle of independence of legal activity.
The head of NAU, RAU Lidiia Izovitova expressed special gratitude to the authors of the Law No. 12320 – Grigoriy Mamtsi, Vyacheslav Medyanik, Maksym Buzhansky, Sergiy Ionushas, Sergiy Minko, Vladimir Zakharchenko, the leadership and members of the VR Committee on Law Enforcement and the VR Committee on Legal Policy, as well as all the MPs who supported the legislative initiative.
“The adopted law is a specific response to the systemic problem of equating lawyers with clients and the lack of effective protection against interference in legal activity. This is an important step towards ensuring that lawyers work without pressure, with respect for their professional status – as required by the Constitution of Ukraine and international standards,” L. Izovitova noted.
According to the Law, a separate article 185-16 “Violation of the ban on equating a lawyer with a client” will appear in the Code of Ukraine on Administrative Offenses:
“1. Public, including through the media, journalists, public associations, professional unions, digital platforms, social networks, internet resources, equating a lawyer with a client to whom such a lawyer provides professional legal assistance, done without the intention to obstruct the lawyer from performing the duties prescribed by law to provide defense, representation, and other types of legal assistance to the client, –
entails a fine for citizens from two hundred to three hundred non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens and for officials – from three hundred to four hundred non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.
2. An act provided for in the first part of this article, committed by a person who has been subjected to administrative punishment for the same violation within a year, –
entails a fine of six hundred to eight hundred non-taxable minimum incomes of citizens.”
The article will also contain a note explaining the meaning of the term “equating a lawyer with a client” – this is any identification (association, linking) of a lawyer with a client, with the activities or actions of his client, which creates a biased attitude towards the lawyer, indicates the personal involvement of the lawyer in the client’s case, affects the independent status of the lawyer and/or exerts negative pressure during the exercise of legal activity, and/or violates the guarantees of legal activity, and/or hinders the exercise of the rights of the lawyer provided by the Law of Ukraine “On Advocacy and Legal Practice”.
Cases of such administrative offenses will be considered by judges of district, city district, city or city district courts. Protocols will be drawn up by the heads of regional bar associations or an authorized member of the bar association council.
In addition, changes are being made to the provision of Article 397 (Interference in the activities of a lawyer) of the Criminal Code.
Currently, criminal liability is established for “obstructing in any form the lawful activities of a defender or representative of a person in providing legal assistance or violating the legal guarantees of their activities and professional secrecy established by law”.
According to the law, these forms will be detailed: “unlawful obstruction of the arrival of a lawyer to court, prosecutor’s offices, pre-trial investigation authorities, to enterprises, institutions, organizations regardless of ownership form, to their separate premises for representing the interests of a person to whom such a lawyer provides legal assistance, unlawful obstruction of a meeting of a lawyer with a person to whom legal assistance is provided, as well as any other intentional obstruction of the professional activities of a lawyer and the performance of his duties defined by laws or other regulatory legal acts in providing defense or representation of a person”.
Some members of the public interpret the law as increasing pressure on the media. At the same time, in the legal community, it is emphasized that the norm does not restrict freedom of expression and does not hinder public discussion of the activities of lawyers or their clients. It is aimed solely at protecting against unlawful personalization – when a lawyer is deliberately equated with the position or actions of the client, leading to discredit, pressure, or violation of the independence of legal activity. It is not about prohibiting criticism, but about introducing clear boundaries that correspond to both the Constitution of Ukraine and international standards. Fixing such boundaries in the law ensures a proper balance between society’s right to information and a lawyer’s right to professional impartiality and protection against biased treatment. At the same time, the new mechanism of responsibility will not operate automatically – each fact of violation must be documented and proven in the established procedural order.
“This, without exaggeration, is one of the most significant achievements of the legal profession in recent years in terms of protecting professional guarantees. For the first time at the legislative level, real mechanisms for holding accountable for violations of the ban on equating a lawyer with a client have been introduced. This not only strengthens the position of the lawyer in complex processes but also increases trust in the legal system as a whole. Each lawyer will be able not only to refer to the article of the specialized law but also to the direct norm of the Code of Administrative Offenses and the Criminal Code, which has a preventive and protective character,” noted the deputy head of NAU, RAU Valentin Gvozdiy. – Therefore, I am grateful to everyone who was involved in preparing the bill, submitting and supporting it within the walls of the Verkhovna Rada, as well as to those who voted for it in the session hall”.