The minimum number of points and the calculation period of accrual as elements of the mechanism for improving the qualifications of lawyers

It is indicated that the defining elements of the lawyer’s legal status are his professional rights, duties, guarantees and responsibilities. Improving the qualifications of a lawyer is one of his fundamental professional duties (paragraph 4, part 1, article 21 of the Law of Ukraine «On Advocacy and Advocacy»). This article reveals the essence of the mechanism of the lawyer’s implementation of his professional duty to improve his qualifications, primarily through the prism of the need for him to obtain the appropriate number of points during the specified calculation period of their accrual. Attention is drawn to the dilatability of the issue not only regarding the total minimum number of points that a lawyer must receive, as well as the calculation period for their accrual, but also regarding the expediency of the existence of an institute for improving the qualifications of lawyers in general. In the framework of this article, the normative consolidation of the procedure for implementing the lawyer’s obligation to improve his qualifications in the context of the calculation of the appropriate number of points during a certain calculation period in accordance with national legislation, as well as the experience of foreign countries in determining the mechanism for improving the qualifications of lawyers, was also investigated. It is concluded that foreign countries use different positions regarding the definition of the mechanism for improving the qualifications of lawyers. Thus, a number of countries adhere to the need to use a calculation period of one year, fixing at the same time a different minimum number of credit points (hours, credits) that a lawyer must receive. Countries that not only set the minimum required number of points (hours) for a lawyer in one year, but also set a longer calculation period in general (three or five years) take a slightly different position. It is concluded that the provisions of national legislation regarding the minimum number of points (10 hours) that a lawyer must obtain within one year generally correspond to the law-making practice of European countries (the average duration of training of European professional judges and practicing lawyers is approximately 14 hours/points/credits per year).