European countries have signed the Convention on the Protection of Lawyers, but Ukraine is delaying

Thirteen member states of the Council of Europe have signed the Convention on the Protection of the Lawyer's Profession, which was adopted by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on March 12, 2025. Four more countries will do so today. Ukraine is not among them, according to the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine, reports UNN. 

The Convention has already been signed by Andorra, Estonia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland and Sweden. Belgium, Iceland, the Republic of Moldova and the United Kingdom are expected to sign it today.

This is the first international treaty aimed at protecting the legal profession. The decision was a response to the growing number of reports of attacks on the legal profession, including in the form of harassment, threats, physical attacks or interference with the performance of professional duties (e.g., creating obstacles to accessing clients). The Convention concerns both the lawyers themselves and their professional associations, which play an important role in protecting the rights and interests of lawyers.

According to the Convention, States are obliged to ensure that lawyers can perform their professional duties without the threat of physical attacks, threats, harassment, intimidation or undue obstruction or interference. If such actions may constitute a criminal offense, the parties must conduct an effective investigation.

One of the developers of the draft convention was the Deputy Chairman of the National Association of Lawyers of Ukraine, the Council of Lawyers of Ukraine, Valentyn Gvozdiy, who was also elected Vice-President of the Committee of Experts on the Protection of Lawyers.

Earlier, UNN reported that the Verkhovna Rada is consolidated and ready to support the ratification of the Convention, but first the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs must decide on international treaties. Ukraine was expected to be one of the first to ratify the Convention, but this did not happen.

For reference: about the Convention

On March 12, 2025, the Council of Europe adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Lawyer's Profession — the first international document that directly obliges states to guarantee:

• security, independence and inviolability of legal practice;

• protection against illegal interference — searches, wiretapping, pressure;

• respect for the confidentiality of attorney-client privilege;

• the impossibility of prosecuting lawyers for performing their professional duties;

• implementation of effective mechanisms for appealing and accountability for violations of lawyers' rights.

We would like to add that among the high-profile scandals regarding the violation of attorney-client privilege is the installation of wiretapping devices by NABU detectives in the office of metropolitan lawyers, in their room for negotiations with clients who are involved in the bureau's cases. A criminal proceeding has been opened against NABU detectives on the fact of illegal wiretapping.