Meeting of the Qualification Commission

On August 11, 2022, a meeting of the Qualification Commission of the Chamber of Advocates of the Samara Region was held.

The agenda of the meeting determined twenty-five disciplinary proceedings for consideration, five of which were initiated at the request of the court, twelve - on the proposal of the Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Samara Region, two - on the proposal of the Vice-President of the PASO, six - on the complaints of principals.

In essence, twenty-three disciplinary proceedings were considered.

Thus, in two cases, the courts in their appeals pointed to the commission of actions by lawyers that caused a delay or disruption of court hearings, which were regarded as a manifestation of extreme disrespect for the court and participants in the process.

In the first case, the commission found that the lawyer allowed repeated delays in court sessions according to the schedule agreed in advance with all participants in the criminal case, and also, being duly notified of the date, time and place of the hearing, to the court sessions on May 25, 2022 and May 27 .2022 did not appear, did not submit documents confirming the validity of the reasons for non-appearance to the court. On 05/06/2022, he also did not appear at the court session, submitting a motion for adjournment on 05/05/2022 due to being busy at the court session in a civil case. On June 10, 2022, without waiting for the end of the court session, he left the courtroom without permission.

In the second case, the lawyer who participated in the criminal case by agreement, duly notified of the dates, time and place of the hearing of the case, did not appear at the court hearings on 17.05. did not present to the court.

In both cases, the Commission considered the composition of disciplinary offenses.

In three other cases, prior to the consideration of disciplinary proceedings against lawyers, upon appeals of the court, the Commission received responses to the appeals, in connection with which the disciplinary proceedings were terminated.

The Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Samara Region made submissions in respect of eleven lawyers, from which it follows that the department verified the information contained in the Federal State Information System "Accounting for Lawyers of the Russian Federation and Lawyers of Foreign States Practicing Lawyers in the Russian Federation", the register lawyers of the Samara region, the registry cases of lawyers, as a result of which it was established that at different times the Office made changes to the register of lawyers of the Samara region in relation to lawyers who decided to change their membership in the PASO to membership in other regional chambers of lawyers.

Information about these lawyers has not been included in the register of lawyers of other constituent entities of the Russian Federation since the moment they were excluded from the register of lawyers of the Samara Region.

The Commission found in the actions of lawyers the improper fulfillment of the requirements of the legislation on advocacy and advocacy and the Code of Professional Ethics of a lawyer and the decisions of the FPA.

One submission by the Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Samara Region was withdrawn, and disciplinary proceedings were terminated.

Based on the complaints of the principals, the Commission came to the conclusion that it was necessary to terminate disciplinary proceedings in one case due to the reconciliation of the parties, in three cases - due to the absence of violations in the actions of lawyers.

In the actions of the two lawyers, the Commission found elements of disciplinary offenses.

Thus, from the client's complaint against lawyer G., it follows that the lawyer carried out actions to familiarize himself with the materials of the criminal case against the client without concluding an agreement with him.

The commission found violations in the actions of lawyer G., since the lawyer did not submit the original agreement to the Commission, as well as lawyer proceedings.

It follows from the complaint against lawyer T. that the lawyer, who entered into an agreement to protect the interests of the applicant in the criminal process, defended it poorly. The lawyer did not file petitions, did not dispute the results of the examination, and did not prepare procedural documents. At the court session, the lawyer stated that it was impossible to interrogate the investigator, who was summoned to court as a witness. The defense lawyer missed court sessions, in connection with which the court ensured the involvement of an appointed lawyer to defend the defendant.

It follows from the explanations given by lawyer T. that he concluded an agreement with the complainant. The defense was carried out properly, the tactics of defense were agreed with the principal, all the necessary procedural actions were carried out by him in a timely manner and with high quality. He did not participate in two court hearings due to being on treatment. At the same time, the lawyer explained that they had not been informed of the presence of valid reasons for adjourning court hearings, no petitions for adjournment due to his illness had been filed. He believes that the reason for the principal's complaint is the lawyer's appeal to the court with a claim to recover the unpaid fee from the principal.

The commission established violations in the actions of lawyer T., namely, failure to notify the court of the presence of valid reasons for adjourning the court hearings, which led to the need for the participation of a defense counsel in the case by appointment of the court, as well as a statement about the impossibility of interrogating the investigator as a witness in the court session, since this position is contrary to the current procedural norms of the law.

Two disciplinary proceedings have been adjourned for reasons deemed valid by the Commission.

PASO Press Center