PASO Council meeting

On November 23, 2022, a regular meeting of the PASO Council was held. It began with a solemn swearing in by sixteen applicants. Four of them were marked by the Qualification Commission as showing the highest results in passing the exam.

The PASO Council granted the applications of three lawyers for suspension and seven for termination of status. The status of two lawyers was terminated due to death.

The PASO Council received a notice of the establishment of a new bar association. Applications of eight lawyers for crediting them for hours of professional development were satisfied. Based on the statements of the principals, two lawyers were thanked.

Twelve lawyers have applied to the Council for inclusion in the LA system. One of them was denied. The lawyer who filed it had previously worked in this system and left it on a personal statement. In pursuance of the decision of the PASO Council dated September 29, 2022, on conducting an audit of the provision of subsidized legal assistance by lawyers as a defender in criminal proceedings on the appointment of bodies of inquiry, investigation and court in accordance with Art. Art. 50-51 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation and as a representative in civil proceedings on the appointment of a court in accordance with Art. 50 Code of Civil Procedure of the Russian Federation. for the period from 01/01/2022 to 03/31/2022, he was supposed to submit a dossier for the period of his work in the SUP for verification, but did not do this. Failure to provide a dossier in itself constitutes a disciplinary offense, which in turn entails the exclusion of a lawyer from the subsidized legal aid system. In this regard, the Board did not satisfy the application of this lawyer to re-include him in the SF system.

Fifty-one lawyers did not submit a dossier. They will be subject to disciplinary proceedings on the proposal of the PASO Vice President. As of November 23, 2022, the distribution of claims to these lawyers by the SYP center has been suspended.

The PASO Council considered seven disciplinary proceedings.

The first of them was initiated in connection with the situation that occurred in the first days of March this year. The lawyer smuggled a leaflet into SIZO-1 and pasted it in the toilet. At the exit from the pre-trial detention center, 12 more leaflets were found in his backpack, similar to those taken from the wall in the bathroom of the pre-trial detention center and PVA glue. Disciplinary proceedings were initiated on the proposal of the Department of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation for the Samara Region. When considering the production materials in the Qualification Commission, the lawyer took a position based on which the leaflets did not belong to him, he found them, forgotten by someone, in the office and picked them up, and he always carries PVA glue with him for professional activities. However, from the documents submitted by the pre-trial detention center at the request of the Qualification Commission, it followed that there could not be forgotten other people's documents and papers in the investigation office. Under such circumstances, the commission saw in the lawyer's actions the composition of a disciplinary offense. At the same time, the commission did not go into an assessment of the content of the leaflet and the political preferences of its author. The offense was expressed in the fact that the lawyer used the lawyer's professional rights for personal purposes. The right of access to the pre-trial detention center is granted to lawyers by law solely for the protection of the interests of the principals, and not for the realization of any personal, non-professional or political interests. At the meeting of the Council, the lawyer acknowledged his misconduct and expressed regret that, due to his emotional outburst, many lawyers who visited SIZO-1 began to be subjected to much more stringent searches than before. The level of trust in the lawyer corporation has significantly decreased. In view of remorse, the PASO Council issued a warning to the lawyer about the termination of status.

Two other proceedings were initiated on the basis of complaints from the principals. The lawyer, carrying out defense on demand, did not receive from him a receipt refusing to appeal against the court ruling on the choice of a measure of restraint. The PASO Council considered it possible to terminate the proceedings due to the insignificance of the misconduct, pointing out to the colleague the need to draw up a questionnaire with the defendants.

Another lawyer, having entered the case at the stage of sending the criminal case to the court, concluded an agreement with the principal, the subject of which was only familiarization with the case materials and participation in judicial debates. Participation in court hearings was not provided. Nevertheless, he participated in the consideration of the case by the court in full. At the same time, a new agreement was concluded for each court session, in which a note was made that, according to the agreement for the previous session, the principal had no claims against him. The lawyer paid the remuneration he received to the current account of the legal education from case to case at his own discretion. The last amount in the amount of 73,000 rubles was credited after the client's complaint was received by the PASO Council. The lawyer did not submit a dossier on the case, so that the applicant's arguments about the provision of unqualified legal assistance were found to be substantiated. The Qualification Commission saw in the actions a violation of the requirements of Art. 7 and Art. 25 of the Federal Law "On advocacy and advocacy in the Russian Federation".

The PASO Council has repeatedly explained that the conclusion of an agreement on one procedural action in a criminal process is not allowed. An agreement may be concluded at the stage of criminal proceedings. The lawyer sent explanations to the PASO Council, in which he acknowledged his violations and undertook to prevent this from happening in the future. The council issued a warning to him.

The fourth proceeding was initiated on the appeal of the court, which was subsequently withdrawn. The PASO Council terminated the disciplinary proceedings.

Three proceedings were initiated against lawyers who were in arrears in contributions for the general needs of PASO. Two paid off the debt before the Council meeting. During the consideration of the proceedings against the third lawyer, it became known that the “debtor” was sentenced to real imprisonment more than six months ago, but did not file an application for termination of status, and the verdict was not received by the PASO Council. Under such circumstances, the Council decided to terminate the status of a lawyer from the moment the verdict entered into force.

PASO Press Center