The government approved the deprivation of lawyer status when living abroad

Candidate lawyers will be required to have a higher legal education with a master’s degree in law, and the Ministry of Justice will maintain a unified electronic register of defense attorneys who may be deprived of their status in the event of a long-term departure abroad. These are the main amendments to the law on the legal profession, approved by the government of the Russian Federation. The rule on expulsion from the ranks of lawyers will be applied if the defenders do not appear in the Russian Federation for more than a year or decide to permanently reside in another country. Experts interviewed by Kommersant remind us that the freedom to choose a place of residence is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and do not understand how this very circumstance “can be considered a disciplinary violation.” They argue that a lawyer “permanently residing on the Cote d’Azur” can quite professionally advise Russian clients remotely. However, the Federal Chamber of Lawyers emphasizes that the issue of deprivation of status will be considered not by officials of the Ministry of Justice, but by colleagues.

Project amendments to the federal law “On advocacy and the legal profession in the Russian Federation” was approved on December 11 at a meeting of the government commission on legislative activity. The document establishes new requirements for applicants for the status of lawyer: they must not only have a Master of Law, but also have a bachelor’s degree in the specialties “Jurisprudence” or “Ensuring Law and Order.”

In addition, it is proposed to add a rule to the law allowing councils of bar associations to deprive a lawyer of his status in the event of permanent residence outside the Russian Federation for more than one year. In the press service of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation promise: “This introduction will not affect those lawyers who traveled for treatment or training or to accompany family members sent to perform work or other duties outside the Russian Federation by government bodies or Russian organizations and for other valid reasons.” However, the department did not publish the text of the amendments.

Previously in the Federal Chamber of Lawyers (FPA) quoted This is the explanation from the Ministry of Justice: “There are cases when lawyers of the Russian Federation left for a long time or left for permanent residence in foreign jurisdictions, including states unfriendly to the Russian Federation, and continue activities, including those aimed at undermining trust in the institution of the legal profession.”

The initial bill was developed by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation and was submitted to the State Duma in February 2023. As Kommersant already reported, the amendments introduced a unified state register of lawyers and regulated the status of the general lawyer information system KIS AR (see “Kommersant” dated October 16, 2023). In April 2023, the State Duma adopted the document in the first reading. The current amendments have been prepared by the department for the second reading in parliament.

The Ministry of Justice is talking about the need for similar reforms of the legal profession starting in 2020. Thus, in December 2020, the head of the department, Konstantin Chuychenko, assured that the legal profession “was, is and will be an independent institution,” but advocated coordination of its activities with the state.

Thus, the official already mentioned the need to introduce a unified state register of lawyers: “So that there are no dubious games when a lawyer, deprived of status in one region, goes and calmly receives status in another.”

Vice-President of the FPA of the Russian Federation Oleg Baulin called the register “one of the key provisions of the bill” to Kommersant, saying that the reflection of information in it “emphasizes the public nature of the lawyer’s activities.”

In the current amendments, the Ministry of Justice also asks for “the authority to approve the Regulations on the procedure for passing the qualification exam and assessing the knowledge of applicants for the status of lawyer.” Now this procedure is established by the FPA, and exams are taken in regional chambers. The Ministry of Justice believes that the amendments as a whole “will increase guarantees for the implementation of citizens’ constitutional rights to receive qualified legal assistance.” It is noteworthy that in 2022, the idea of ​​coordinating the procedure for passing the exam with the Ministry of Justice was criticized by the bar chambers of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The capital’s chamber reported that it opposes “any kind of ‘coordination’ of the internal affairs of the legal profession with the justice authorities” as violating the principle of independence and self-government.

The St. Petersburg Bar Association also called the idea “unjustified government interference in the activities of a lawyer corporation.”

However, Mr. Baulin told Kommersant that taking into account the “established” approaches of the Ministry of Justice and the Chamber “and the general understanding of the conditions for acquiring the status of a lawyer and changing membership, these procedures are unlikely to lead to disputes and conflicts.” In general, the provisions of the bill, according to Oleg Baulin, have been agreed upon with the FPA: “The Bar as a whole is ready to perform its functions after amendments are made to the law.”

Managing partner of the RI-Consulting law firm, Elena Gladysheva, complains that not all initiatives discussed by the community were included in the project. In particular, she mentioned the idea of ​​​​creating a register of judicial representatives, where lawyers “should have been included ‘automatically'” along with lawyers in companies. However, she approves of the new requirements for the qualifications of applicants for the status of lawyer (saying that they are “brought into line with current educational standards”) and the creation of a federal register to establish “final order in this area.”

Vadim Klyuvgant, a partner at the Pen & Paper Bar Association, considers the most controversial rule to be the deprivation of status in the event of a long absence of a lawyer in the Russian Federation. “Despite the fact that decision-making falls within the competence of the disciplinary bodies of a lawyer’s corporation, such a “ground” for termination of status in itself causes extreme bewilderment,” he says.

Mr. Klyuvgant explains that “free choice of location and place of residence” is guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, and does not understand “who and by what criteria can decide for a person, including a lawyer, whether he had “good reasons” (for moving. — “Kommersant”)”.

Senior lawyer at Kosenkov and Suvorov, Alexandra Shultz, is perplexed as to who will establish the fact of “permanent residence” abroad. At the same time, she recalls that the law calls advocacy “qualified legal assistance provided by persons who have received the status of lawyer to individuals and legal entities in order to protect their rights, freedoms and interests.” “With the development of the Internet, it is unclear why a lawyer living, for example, on the Cote d’Azur, will protect the interests of clients worse than a lawyer from a remote village,” argues Ms. Schultz. “Russian lawyers provide extensive and frequent assistance to clients outside the Russian Federation. And this has become especially relevant in the reality of sanctions, when foreign lawyers are often forced to refuse Russian citizens,” recalls Mr. Klyuvgant. He does not understand “how a lawyer’s choice of location can be considered a disciplinary violation if at the same time he is performing professional duties.”

However, Oleg Baulin from the FPA says that leaving the country “to perform professional duties in the territory of another state is not a basis for terminating the status of a lawyer.” At the same time, Mr. Baulin considers it “significant” that such a basis for termination of the status of a lawyer “is not unconditional”, but is considered by the council of the regional chamber of lawyers.

Alexander Voronov