The role of self-governing professions in ensuring the rule of law – dialogues with representatives from France

On 18 November, the director of Tomorrow’s Lawyer joined discussions on ensuring the rule of law and the role of self-governing, private professions in this process, organised by the EU project ‘Pravo-Justice’ in cooperation with Team France and with the participation of the European Union in Ukraine.

Representatives of France – the Ministry of Justice, the National Bar Council, the High Council of Notaries and the National Council of Judicial Executors – joined the discussions, as did representatives of the Association of Private Executors of Ukraine, the National Association of Arbitration Managers of Ukraine, the Notary Chamber of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Bar Association and Pro Justice.

In particular, one of the discussions was devoted to the Bar. It was a great honour to discuss with Marie-Aimée Peyron, Vice-President of the French National Bar Council, especially given the similarity between the Bar systems in our countries. The discussion was also attended by Mykola Stetsenko, lawyer and President of the Ukrainian Bar Association, and Roman Chumak, lawyer, graduate of the Lawyer of the Future programme, and Head of the NGO PRO JUSTICE.

Daria Pysarenko emphasised the role of the Bar in Ukraine’s justice system and the problems outlined in the Shadow Report, particularly regarding the system for forming bar self-government bodies.

During the discussion, participants discussed common approaches to the development of the legal professions and their role in strengthening the rule of law, focusing on the current state and trends in the development of the legal professions in Ukraine and France, France’s experience in the functioning of self-governing professional organisations and the possibilities for applying certain practices in Ukraine, key challenges of reforming and increasing trust in justice, the importance of professional self-government and self-regulation for ensuring the independence of the legal professions, as well as the tasks facing Ukraine on the path to European integration in the field of further improvement of regulation in these areas.

“The rule of law is a shared responsibility. It lies not only with judges and prosecutors, but also with lawyers, notaries, private enforcement agents and other legal professionals. Only by working together, recognising this responsibility and working towards the implementation of European integration tasks, can we ensure the effectiveness and sustainable development of justice. That is why this meeting with our French colleagues was a great opportunity to exchange experiences and strengthen the partnership between Ukraine and the European Union,” said Oksana Tsymbrovska, head of the EU  Pravo-Justice Project.