Over 40 violations by TCC and SP recorded by lawyers since 2022 - NAAL report

The Committee for the Protection of Lawyers' Rights and Guarantees of Advocacy of the Ukrainian National Bar Association (UNBA) has published a consolidated report on violations of lawyers' professional rights by territorial recruitment centers and social support. The document covers the period from 2022 to the first half of 2025 and contains statistics of violations, descriptions of incidents, and response measures by the bar self-government. This is reported by UNN with reference to the National Bar Association of Ukraine.

Details

According to the UNBA Committee, in 2022, one case of violation of guarantees of advocacy by the TCC and SP was recorded, in 2023 - eight such episodes. In 2024, the number of documented violations increased to 24, and in the first half of 2025, the Committee recorded another 9 episodes. At the same time, the number of appeals from lawyers regarding violations of their rights also increased: from 59 in 2022 to 98 in 2023, 86 in 2024, and 43 appeals in the first six months of 2025.

The most common violations were:

• denial of access for a lawyer to a client in the premises of the TCC and SP;
• detention of lawyers while providing legal assistance;
• attempts at "forced mobilization" of defenders;
• serving summonses in response to professional activities;
• use of physical force and obstruction of access to clients.

Some cases were accompanied by bodily injuries to lawyers and prolonged detention of citizens in TCC premises.

The Committee also emphasizes problems with further investigation of such incidents. The report states that information is often entered into the Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations only "by rulings of investigating judges," and the investigation itself is either not conducted or remains without proper procedural actions.

The document also provides examples of positive interaction. In particular, one of the regional TCCs equipped a special place for meetings between lawyers and conscripts after a joint meeting with representatives of the UNBA.

A separate section of the report is dedicated to the actions of bar self-government bodies. Since 2023, the UNBA has repeatedly appealed to the President of Ukraine, the Verkhovna Rada, the Cabinet of Ministers, the Ministry of Defense, and other authorities regarding the need to introduce a mechanism for booking lawyers during martial law and to prevent obstacles to their professional activities.

Also, mentioned is draft law No. 12348 prepared by people's deputies regarding amendments to Article 23 of the Law "On Mobilization Training and Mobilization" concerning the provision of deferment to lawyers, as well as UNBA initiatives on recognizing advocacy as critically important for ensuring the vital activity of the population and the possibility of booking lawyers whose right to practice the profession has not been suspended.

Additionally

Dmytro Lubinets reported that the Ombudsman's Office received 29,957 appeals regarding violations of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war. He also received over 13,500 appeals from active military personnel.