Dmytro Kukhnyuk Reflects Upon the Advocates’ Monopoly Termination on Hromadske Radio
Of recently, draft amendments to the Constitution have been registered with the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. Draft Law No 1013 provides for the abolition of the 2016 exclusive right of lawyers (hereinafter the “monopoly”) to represent clients in courts. In accordance with Article 1312 of the Constitution, starting from 2016, the so-called monopoly of lawyers to represent clients in courts was being gradually introduced:
- from 2017 – in the Supreme Court
- from 2018 – in the courts of appeal
- from 2019 – in the courts of first instance
- from 2020 – representation of state and local self-government bodies in courts exclusively by prosecutors or defense attorneys.
Expert of the Program Dmytro Kukhniuk spoke with Tatiana Troschynska, editor-in-chief of Hromadske radio and trainer of the fourth module of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program (seasons 1-2), about the lawyers’ monopoly, amendments to the Constitution and other issues of legal profession.
The text transcript of the interview and an audio file is available by the link (available in Ukrainian).
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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the view of the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program, the Ukrainian Bar Association, the Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers, the Quality and Accessible Legal Aid in Ukraine Project, the Canadian Bureau for International Education, or the Government of Canada and the Law Enforcement Section of the United States Embassy in Ukraine.
“Tomorrow’s Lawyer” is a powerful network of lawyers uniting opinion leaders in the legal profession, who provide legal assistance in accordance with the highest ethical standards, act as agents of change in society and leaders in the professional community.
The “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” Program was launched in 2016 and first implemented within the “Quality and Accessible Legal Aid” Project, carried out by the Canadian Bureau for International Education with the support of the Government of Canada in cooperation with the Legal Aid Coordination Centre. It is currently being implemented and developed with the support of the US Embassy’s Law Enforcement Section in Ukraine, the “Tomorrow’s Lawyer” NGO, in partnership with the Ukrainian Bar Association and the Bar Association of Legal Aid Providers.
