Qualification Commission of PASO

On 18.01.2024, the first meeting of the Qualification Commission of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region in the new year 2024 was held.

The agenda of the meeting included nine disciplinary proceedings for consideration, six of which were initiated on the proposal of the Vice President of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region, three - on complaints of clients.

Eight proceedings were considered on the merits, of which in one case the Commission came to the conclusion that it was necessary to terminate it due to the absence of violations in the actions of the lawyer, in the remaining cases, violations were found in the actions of the lawyers, one disciplinary proceeding was postponed for reasons recognized by the Commission as valid.

*****

The Vice President of the PASO filed a motion regarding lawyer M., who has arrears in monthly payments for the maintenance of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region, as well as for the maintenance of the advocacy organization - the Collegium of Advocates, which is a violation of the requirements of the legislation on advocacy and the bar, paragraphs 4.5, 5.2.5 of the Charter of the PASO.

Having found in the actions of the lawyer the presence of elements of a disciplinary offense, the Commission draws the attention of colleagues to the fact that the lawyer is obliged to make monthly deductions for the general needs of the chamber of advocates in the manner and in the amounts determined by the meeting (conference) of lawyers of the chamber of advocates of the corresponding subject of the Russian Federation, as well as deduct funds for the maintenance of the corresponding lawyer's office, the corresponding collegium of advocates or the corresponding law firm in the manner and in the amounts established by the advocacy organization.

For failure to perform or improper performance of their duties, a lawyer shall bear liability as provided for by the Federal Law "On Advocacy and the Bar in the Russian Federation" (clause 5, clause 1, clause 2, Article 7).

A lawyer's violation of the requirements of the legislation on advocacy and the bar and the Code of Professional Ethics of a lawyer, committed intentionally or through gross negligence, shall entail the application of disciplinary measures provided for by the legislation on advocacy and the bar and the Code of Professional Ethics of a lawyer (clause 1, Article 18 of the Code).

In accordance with clause 4.5 of the Charter of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region, each lawyer shall bear personal liability to the Chamber for the timeliness, correctness and completeness of monthly payments. Failure by a lawyer to make monthly payments for three months during the year (in a row or in total) without good reason shall be grounds for the adoption by the Council of the Chamber, based on the conclusion of the Qualification Commission, of a decision to terminate the status of a lawyer.

******

With respect to five lawyers, the Vice President of the PASO submitted representations on the initiation of disciplinary proceedings due to the failure of lawyers to comply with the decisions of the bodies of the Bar Association by submitting their lawyer files for verification within the timeframes established by the Decision of the PASO Council No. 22-09-6.2/SP dated September 29, 2022 "On conducting an inspection of the execution by lawyers of the Decision of the PASO Council No. 14-11-08/SP dated November 27, 2014".

The Commission established disciplinary offenses with respect to all lawyers.

******

It follows from the complaint of citizen L. that on 14.09.2022, in accordance with Art. 50, 51 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation, he was assigned defense counsel R., while the requirement of Art. 217 of the Criminal Procedure Code of the Russian Federation was met in the criminal case. The lawyer did not visit the client, who was being held in a pre-trial detention center, did not provide consultations, signed the protocol ("acting in the interests of the investigation"), without actually familiarizing himself with the materials of the criminal case ("according to the schedule, he familiarized himself from 14.09.2022 to 21.10.2022, while on 21.10.2022, i.e. in one day, the defense attorney allegedly familiarized himself with 126 volumes"), and did not submit any motions or comments on the presence of procedural violations. The applicant believes that the lawyer's inaction in fulfilling the requirements of Art. 217 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation resulted in the violation of his rights to defense, since attorney R. neglected his duty to thoroughly and completely study the materials of the criminal case, did not agree on the position, and did not provide consultations.

On the merits of the complaint filed by attorney R., he provided explanations that do not refute the applicant's arguments.

The Commission found in the attorney's actions violations of the norms of the legislation on advocacy and the bar, the Standard for the implementation of defense by an attorney in criminal proceedings, adopted by the VIII All-Russian Congress of Advocates, both in form and content. The Commission pointed out the inadmissibility of such behavior, since such actions are a gross violation of professional duties, violate the rights of the client, give rise to mistrust of the attorney, and undermine the authority of the bar.

******

It follows from the complaint of citizen S. that the appellate court assigned him an attorney (defender) "a certain Ch. His further details are unknown and he has not provided and has not provided upon arrival at Pre-trial Detention Center No. 4 in Tolyatti. The purpose of his visit to me is unknown, since this person has not read the case." In addition, in the appellate court, the lawyer did not support the challenge to the judge due to his repeated participation, declared by S. The lawyer ignored and continues to ignore the client's request to file various motions, which indicates the formality of his participation in the process. The lawyer did not agree on the position with the client, did not open a file.

On the merits of the complaint filed by lawyer Ch., explanations and lawyer proceedings were presented. In his explanations, the lawyer consistently and reasonably, taking into account the materials of the proceedings, refutes the applicant's arguments.

The Commission did not find in the actions of the lawyer a violation of the norms of the legislation on advocacy and the Bar, the Standard for the implementation of defense by a lawyer in criminal proceedings, adopted by the VIII All-Russian Congress of Lawyers, and terminated the disciplinary proceedings.

******

The conclusions of the Commission are included in the agenda of the meeting of the Council of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region, which will be held on 01.02.2024.

PASO Press Center