Until recently, the law monopoly was the right to defend the accused in court, reserved exclusively for lawyers. At the same time, it did not matter what kind of crime was considered, and what kind of punishment threatened the defendant. In this situation, individual organizations that had legal specialists in their staff could not defend themselves in court on their own. If a lawsuit was filed against them, it was necessary to hire a lawyer from the outside. This entailed many unpleasant nuances, including excessive financial costs. However, the advocate monopoly, which extended to criminal, administrative, economic, and other cases, also had positive aspects.
Pros and cons of monopoly lawyers
Looking at this concept from different angles, one can notice both advantages and disadvantages, which are largely mutually exclusive. For example, when Ukraine introduced a monopoly on the legal assistance of lawyers, the country did not have a sufficient number of specialists in this field. As a result, ordinary lawyers lost the opportunity to defend the accused, and the prices for the services of lawyers rose sharply and significantly. From a legal point of view, the introduction of such a monopoly caused a great resonance, and the system itself had a rather rigid framework.
Despite a number of inconveniences, the advocate monopoly also had positive aspects - in particular, such a thing as advocacy secret. The status of a lawyer implied the possibility of preserving the private information that was received from the client, from law enforcement officers. According to this rule, they did not have the right to forcibly seize documentation from a lawyer, as well as oblige him to post all the information on the case that he is conducting when summoned for interrogation. And although there is an option limiting the effect of this right, if a court decision is made regarding the seizure of certain items. This happens when the actions of a lawyer can be viewed criminal actions in order to justify the client. In other situations, lawyers are still entitled to professional secrecy.
Latest News - Adoption of Cancellation Act
The current president of Ukraine, Vladimir Zelensky, signed a bill to abolish the advocate monopoly. Nevertheless, the restriction does not apply to the Code of Criminal Procedure, therefore, only lawyers will be able to represent the interests of those accused of criminal offenses, as before, while other areas will become available to all lawyers.
Despite the fact that the law has not yet been published, the event caused a wave of indignation from the bar associations and some representatives of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine. So, in particular, deputy S. Vlasenko, who is also a lawyer, spoke negatively. He believes that the law was considered without observing the regulations established by the Constitution of Ukraine, according to him, committee meetings are not held between major sessions.
The National Bar Association has angrily declared that such a law violates democratic rights and undermines values, and is also a departure from the recommendations of a commission held in Venice. This may be fraught with a decrease in the quality of protection of the rights of the population in court, since the role of a defender can now be performed not by a professional lawyer, but by an ordinary lawyer, far from the intricacies of the lawyer case. AUU (Ukrainian Bar Association) recalls that initially the introduction of the monopoly was aimed at providing citizens with the opportunity to receive high-quality professional legal protection, and now people will choose cheaper and incompetent assistance from other lawyers who are not lawyers.
It is also noted that a monopolistic approach to advocacy is practiced by leading countries of the world. This significantly contributes to highlighting the specialty of a lawyer in a separate area of legal law and the formation of their own uniform rules and standards. Considering this profession in this vein, you can count on a truly guaranteed defense in litigation.
However, there are advocates of monopoly restrictions among advocate associations that demonstrate the negative qualities of the system. As a result of increased demand for lawyers and an increase in the cost of their services, many lawyers began to retrain in this specialty for reasons of profit, but at the same time their professional level did not correspond to what was expected. Thus, it is necessary either to stimulate the improvement of the legal system, or to abolish it. In any case, on this issue, you still need to hear the opinion of the special state commission on issues of reform in the field of law, since the main condition for any changes is to improve the situation of citizens. Their freedom and rights should be left a priority, while not forgetting about the international agreements of Ukraine with other states.
And finally, in October 2019, the Constitutional Court declared the bill on the abolition of the lawyer monopoly constitutional.
“To recognize the bill on amendments to the Constitution (regarding the abolition of the advocate monopoly) in accordance with the requirements of Articles 157 and 158 of the Constitution of Ukraine,” the Constitutional Court said.
Prospects for the abolition of the law monopoly
As soon as the law comes into full force, individuals and companies will be able to seek legal assistance from ordinary lawyers, the number of which in relation to lawyers is much greater. The only exception is the Code of Criminal Procedure. This will make the services much more affordable in terms of cost, as the offer will become several times larger than the current one.
In addition, it is also planned to increase the qualification level of representatives of the lawyer segment, as they will have to work in conditions of increasing competition. This will force them to develop and improve their skills in order to attract a client precisely by professionalism in the legal services market. Healthy competition will improve the entire institution of the legal profession, which will also benefit society and the state.
