"So that we can effectively and quickly resolve all our ethical issues"

On June 17, the Russian Federal Bar Association (RFBA) held an international seminar titled "Analysis of the Work of Ethics and Standards Commissions in the Field of Legal Practice in the Commonwealth of Independented States (CIS)" in a hybrid format. The speakers included representatives from the legal communities of the Russian Federation, the Republics of Armenia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and Kyrgyzstan.

At the conclusion of the event, President of the RFBA and Head of the Base Organization of CIS Member States in the Field of Legal Practice Svetalana Volodina thanked all participants and wished the representatives of the CIS legal communities success in resolving ethical issues effectively and promptly, as well as success for advocates in fulfilling their duties in courts and during investigations.

The seminar was attended by Deputy Director of the Department for the Development and Regulation of Legal Assistance and Legal Services of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation Anton Benov; Head of the Department for Legal Profession of the Department for the Development and Regulation of Legal Assistance and Legal Services of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation Elena Savina; Head of the Expert Department of the Legal Department of the CIS Executive Committee Valery Romashko; and representatives of the Ministries of Justice of the CIS member states, as well as representatives of the legal communities of the Russian Federation, the Republics of Abkhazia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic.

RFBA was represented by President Svetlana Volodina, Executive Vice-President Oksana Sergeeva, Deputy Chairman of Ethics and Standards Commission (hereinafter referred to as ESC) and Vice President of the Moscow City Bar Nikolai Kipnis, Deputy Chairman of ESC Vasily Raudin, as well as participants of the scientific project of the Union of Young Advocates of Russia.

The event was opened by Svetlana Volodina, who warmly welcomed the participants: “Dear participants, I am very glad to welcome you!” She noted that the seminar focused on “one of the most sensitive topics in the legal profession — ethical standards,” emphasizing the importance of understanding how these standards are regulated in the CIS countries. Following her remarks, she handed the floor to Valery Romashko and Elena Shevchenok.

Opening the discussion of the seminar's topic, Svetlana Volodina emphasized that the bar associations of all countries respond to the questions of what is good and what is bad in the same way in the context of the ethical aspect – "it cannot be otherwise, because this is the meaning of the advocate’s profession."

Representatives of the bar associations of the Russian Federation, the Republics of Armenia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, and the Kyrgyz Republic presented their reports.

The Ethics and Standards Commission of the RFBA in the System of Corporate Self-Government Bodies of the Russian Bar

At the beginning of his speech, Nikolai Kipnis recalled that the Federal Law “On Legal Profession and the Bar in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter referred to as the Law on Legal Profession), which provided for the adoption of the Code of Professional Ethics for Advocates (hereinafter referred to as the Code of Ethics), “laid the foundation for the development of written norms of professional ethics. As can be seen from the practice of the functioning bar community, this has been a fairly successful initiative by the legislator.”

Nikolai Kipnis clarified the specific relationships regulated by the norms of professional ethics:

1. Between an advocate and a client;
   
   
2. Between advocates in connection with the representation of clients;
   
   
3. The relationship between advocates and state bodies, legal entities, and individuals in connection with the representation of clients;
   
   
4. The relationship between advocates and the legal community in connection with compliance with the requirements for the status of an advocate;
   
   
5. The relationship between advocates and state bodies, legal entities, and individuals in connection with compliance with the requirements for the status of an advocate.
   

The speaker drew attention to the fact that the norms of professional behavior for an advocate are very diverse, and most importantly, that in practice, new issues arise that the authors of the Code of Ethics could not have foreseen.

CES in the system of corporate self-government bodies of the Bar was established on an initiative basis, within the framework of the Code of Ethics, in 2015. The CES was granted the right to interpret the norms of the Code of Ethics. After the inclusion of provisions on the CES in the Law on Legal Profession (Article 37.1, introduced by Federal Law No. 160-FZ of June 2, 2016), the CES was granted authority in the field of disciplinary proceedings (Article 37.2 of the Law on Legal Profession, introduced by Federal Law No. 400-FZ of December 2, 2019).

Nikolai Kipnis spoke about the CES’s authority. Speaking about the Commission’s work on standards in certain areas of the professional activity of an advocate, he noted that today there are four standards developed by the CES:

1. The Standard for Defense by an Advocate in Criminal Proceedings (adopted by the VIII All-Russian Congress of Advocates on April 20, 2017);
   
   
2. The Standard for Professional Training and Professional Development of Advocates and Interns of Advocates (approved by the IX All-Russian Congress of Advocates on April 18, 2019);
   
   
3. The Standard for the Provision of Free Legal Aid by an Advocate within the Framework of the State System of Free Legal Aid; and
   
   
4. The Standard for the Preparation and Referral of Advocate’s Requests (approved by the XI All-Russian Congress of Advocates on April 20, 2023).
   

Nikolai Kipnis emphasized that the existence of these standards is certainly a guideline for advocates—showing what behavior is acceptable and what is ethically reprehensible.

In addition, to date, the CES has issued 50 clarifications, each of which, according to the speaker, is adopted following a lively discussion. Sometimes, the draft explanation is returned by the Council of the RFBA to the CES for reconsideration. The CES clarifications address various issues, including:

• The possibility of combining legal practice with other types of employment;
  

• The behavior of an advocate outside of professional activity;

• The advertising of legal practice;
  

• The preservation of attorney-client confidentiality;

• The relationship between disciplinary and criminal liability;

• The participation of an advocate in criminal proceedings.

Disciplinary Jurisdiction of the CES

Vasily Raudin dedicated his speech to the Commission’s powers in the field of disciplinary proceedings. The first power is exercised in exceptional cases, such as when the RFBA President initiates a disciplinary case against an advocate who holds an elected position within the bodies of a regional bar association. The second power is broader, as it involves reviewing complaints regarding decisions to terminate an advocate's status made by the councils of regional bar associations. Vasily Raudin discussed the procedure for appealing decisions on the termination of an advocate’s status to the RFBA, the grounds for accepting or refusing a complaint, and the deadlines for reviewing complaints.

The speaker provided a detailed explanation of the conclusions that the CES issues following the consideration of complaints against decisions by the councils of regional bar associations regarding the termination of an advocate’s status. These conclusions include:

• The absence of grounds for changing or canceling the decision;

• The existence of grounds for changing the disciplinary measure to one unrelated to the termination of status;
  

• The existence of grounds for changing the appealed decision regarding the term for admission to the qualification exam;

• The existence of grounds for changing the reasoning of the council's decision without altering the resolution;

• The existence of grounds for revoking the decision to terminate the status and referring the disciplinary case to the qualification commission or the council of the regional bar for a new examination;

• The existence of grounds for revoking the decision to terminate the status and ending the disciplinary proceedings.

Another key area of the CES’s work is the analysis of disciplinary practice, which led to the adoption of the Recommendations on the Consideration of Disciplinary Cases Against Advocates (approved by the RFBA Council on December 15, 2022). These recommendations are updated and supplemented annually as new material becomes available.

Features of the Disciplinary Process Against Advocates in the Republic of Armenia

Legal Expert of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Armenia Hayk Tsaturyan discussed the deadlines involved in disciplinary proceedings during his report on the activities of the Chamber of Advocates' Disciplinary Commission. According to him, disciplinary proceedings must be initiated no later than six months after the relevant grounds are discovered and no later than two years after the occurrence of the event. The entire process typically takes about six months: one month is allocated for initiating the proceedings, two months for collecting evidence, and three months for the actual hearing.

The decision of the Disciplinary Commission may be reviewed by the Council of the Chamber of Advocates but can only be altered by the Disciplinary Commission itself. Hayk Tsaturyan further added that, during the consideration of a specific case, the Disciplinary Commission may provide an explanation of a particular provision in the Code of Advocates’ Conduct. However, there is no body within the Chamber of Advocates responsible for developing and interpreting professional standards.

On the Activities of the Commission for the Compliance of Advocates with the Rules of Professional Ethics and the Quality of Legal Assistance Provided by the Belarusian Republican Bar Association

Deputy Chairman of the Belarusian Republican Bar Association (BRBA) Vitaly Demidovich noted that the Commission for the Compliance of Advocates with the Rules of Professional Ethics and the Quality of Legal Assistance has been functioning since 2021. Its primary tasks include providing explanations and conclusions on the application of professional ethics rules, summarizing disciplinary practices, and resolving intra-corporate conflicts.

The Commission is formed by the Council of the BRBA for a four-year term. Two members are selected from each of the seven territorial bar associations, and the Chairman of the Commission is the Deputy Chairman of the BRBA.

Currently, the Commission is developing a standard of conduct for advocates on the Internet. In this regard, Vitaly Demidovich emphasized the importance of sharing experiences and documents between the ethics commissions of bar associations in CIS member states to strengthen professional standards.

On the Activities of the Ethics Commission of the Advokatura of the Kyrgyz Republic

Chairman of the Ethics Commission of the Advokatura of the Kyrgyz RepublicSalima Belekova, explained that the Commission is responsible for reviewing complaints against advocates. It is formed for a three-year term and consists of five representatives from the Advokatura and two from the Ministry of Justice. According to the speaker, between the beginning of 2024 and April 2025, 514 complaints out of 584 lodged against advocates remained unresolved.

Salima Belekova further clarified that the Commission is currently focused on the following tasks:

• Preparing a simplified procedure for handling complaints related to non-payment of membership fees;Organizing regular information and training seminars on professional ethics for advocates;
  

• Considering the possibility of posting recommendations and explanations on ethics issues on the official website of the Advokatura;

• Removing the authority of the Advokatura Council of Advocates to review the decisions of the Ethics Commission, leaving only the option for judicial appeal;

• Continuing efforts to improve and clarify the legal provisions regarding disciplinary violations by advocates.

On the Work of the Ethics Commission of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Uzbekistan

First Deputy Chairman of the Chamber of Advocates of the Republic of Uzbekistan Sergey Irgashev stated that the Ethics Commission of the Chamber began its work in the second half of 2024. The Commission consists of nine advocates, each serving a five-year term. Its tasks include providing clarifications on the application of professional ethics rules, adopting standards and legislative proposals in the field of the legal profession, and making proposals to ensure the uniform implementation of legal profession standards.

To date, the Commission has adopted several key documents, including the Standard for the Participation of Advocates in Criminal Cases as Defenders and the Mandatory Clarifications on the Application of the Rules of Professional Ethics for Advocates on the Internet and Media. In addition, the Chamber is collaborating with the Ministry of Justice to develop a draft regulatory document aimed at improving the legal regulation of legal practice.

Sergey Irgashev also noted that efforts are ongoing to expand the Commission’s authority and improve its operational mechanisms, taking into account international best practices.

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At the end of the seminar, Svetlana Volodina thanked everyone for their participation and wished the representatives of the CIS member states’ bar associations success in resolving ethical issues efficiently and promptly, as well as success for advocates in fulfilling their duties in courts and during investigations.

Anna Storozhenko, Aleksandr Shefer