The current mechanism of influence on attorneys through arbitrary inclusion in the lists of lawyers subject to certification is well developed, functions as a deterrent, including the widespread "self-censorship" of attorneys, and is quite satisfactory for the actual leadership of the Bar – the Ministry of Justice. Obviously, certification of lawyers should not be arbitrary.
If it is impossible at this stage to talk about the complete exclusion of the Ministry of Justice from the process of managing the Bar, then, in order to prevent the unjustified and hasty deprivation of the right to carry out advocates’ professional activities, it is necessary to regulate in detail the grounds, conditions and procedure for the certification of attorneys. In particular, the following matters necessitate regulation:
1)
Specific circumstances in which an attorney's qualification and their compliance with licensing requirements and conditions requires additional verification by the certification commission of the territorial bar; for which of these circumstances (which shall be exceptional) the certification of an attorney can be carried out by the
Qualification Commission on Issues of Advocacy.
2) A strictly defined quantitative and qualitative
composition of the Qualification Commission on Issues of Advocacy, in which representatives of the bar should possess a quantitative advantage.
3) The examination of the attorney’s knowledge in the certification process should be focused on determining their ability to
freely navigate the current legislation, which allows an attorney to find an answer to the question asked quickly with the use of technical means providing easy access to the legislative database, as well as check their fluency as to the basic concepts and legal terminology, logical thinking, the ability to formulate their conclusions intelligently. At the same time, for attorneys with more than 3 years of experience, it is necessary to take into account the legal specialization in which this lawyer mainly provides legal assistance to individuals and business entities.
4) Unacceptability of establishing the attorney’s
inability of performing their professional duties due to the poor expertise based on results of the first certification, without providing the attorney with the opportunity to improve their qualification with subsequent recertification in 6 months.
5) Precise regulation of the requirements for drafting of the
motivational part of the decision with a detailed description of the circumstances and a clear justification of the conclusions of the certification or the Qualification commission.
6) Mandatory keeping of short
minutes and audio recording of the meeting of the certification commission of the territorial bar, as well as the Qualification Commission. The attorney has to possess the right to familiarize themselves with the records, receive a copy of the audio recording and leave their comments.