The concept of the law on protecting the work of lawyers deserves attention – Kommersant

The Russian government called the concept of a bill introducing criminal liability for obstructing the work of lawyers, which was developed by Vladislav Davankov, State Duma Vice-Speaker from the New People party, worthy of attention. However, in its current version the government did not support the draft law itself.

This bill was developed Mr. Davankov in August 2023 after a high-profile attack in Grozny on lawyer Alexander Nemov and Novaya Gazeta journalist Elena Milashina. It involves introducing penalties of up to two years in prison for interfering with the work of lawyers, as well as additional procedural guarantees for defense lawyers. Three years ago, similar amendments were developed by the government, but they never reached the State Duma.

“The concept of the bill deserves attention,” says the review of the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, head of the government apparatus Dmitry Grigorenko (available to Kommersant) on the draft law prepared by Vladislav Davankov.

At the same time, Mr. Grigorenko found several arguments that do not allow him to support the document in its present form. In particular, according to him, now Articles 295 and 296 of the Criminal Code directly “enshrine criminal legal mechanisms for protecting the life and health of defenders, as well as their loved ones, from attacks related to their participation in criminal proceedings.” “Increased liability for crimes against life and health committed against a person or his relatives in connection with the performance of official activities by this person is provided for by the norms of Chapter 16 of the Criminal Code. In the absence of the said qualifying feature in the articles of the Criminal Code, this circumstance may be taken into account by the court as an aggravating punishment,” writes Mr. Grigorenko.

Also, the deputy chairman of the government noted that “the implementation of the solutions proposed by the bill may entail additional expenses from the federal budget, which is not reflected in the financial and economic justification for it.”

Read more about the bill in the Kommersant article “Deputies stood up for the defenders”.

Alexander Kislov