The Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer: Expectations and Prospects

ABSTRACT Background: By joining the Council of Europe, Ukraine undertook to ensure that the status of the legal profession would be protected by law. The Constitution of Ukraine declares that the independence of the legal profession is guaranteed, since the independent professional activity of lawyers requires not only the conscious and volitional nature of the performance of professional duties by lawyers, but must be ensured by guarantees from the state. In conditions of war and mobilization in Ukraine, the situation in the field of violations of the guarantees of legal activity has worsened: systematic interference in professional activity, violence against lawyers, illegal deprivation of liberty, seizure of things and documents containing legal secrets have been noted. However, the permanently difficult situation in the field of security of legal activity is observed not only in Ukraine. Violations of the professional rights of lawyers are also noted in the countries of the European Union, which prompted the EU to introduce more effective mechanisms capable of obliging states to protect the legal profession. March 12, 2025 The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe adopted the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, which was signed by 17 countries on 13-14 May 2025. The article presents the analysis of the Convention, defining the features of its scope and ensuring its implementation. The need for Ukraine's accession to the Convention is substantiated. The author's analysis was based on the statistical indicators of violations of lawyers' rights in Ukraine, decisions of the Council of Lawyers of Ukraine and the Odesa Regional Bar Council. Methods: The authors used a chronological method, synthesis and a method of information analysis. Actual statistical and empirical data are used for proper argumentation of the conclusions. Results and Conclusions: A conclusion was made about the new approach, in which the modern dimension of the protection of the lawyer's profession is carried out not only by protecting the rights of lawyers, but also by other subjects. The mandatory nature of the provisions of the Convention and the monitoring mechanism introduced by it make it a unique tool that ensures the implementation of the tasks of the bar. For Ukraine, in difficult times of war and in light of the hope for post-war recovery, the Convention sends a powerful signal of the European community's attention to the fundamental values ​​that lawyers uphold and protect.