Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, A/68/329, 16 August 2013
II. Contributions received from Member States I. Nicaragua 59. Article 427 of the penal code criminalizes any actions to hinder or obstruct a person in the exercise of a right or a choice provided for in the Constitution, laws, regulations or any other provisions on...Concluding Observations, CCPR/C/UKR/CO/7, 23 July 2013: Ukraine
8. The Committee welcomes the adoption of the Law on principles of preventing and combating discrimination as well as the proposed amendments relating inter alia to a reversed burden of proof in civil proceedings and recognition of sexual orientation as a protected...
Ukraine: ICJ welcomes decision to reinstate disbarred lawyer
The ICJ welcomes the decision of Ukraine’s High Qualification-Disciplinary Commission to reinstate Larisa Gerasko, a lawyer previously disbarred because of her involvement in seeking to register a local lawyers’ association.
Following a hearing on 21 June, which was attended by ICJ Commissioner Gulnora Ishankhanova, the High Qualification-Disciplinary Commission (HQDC) found that there were no valid grounds for disbarment.
The decision of the HQDC came in the context of a series of disciplinary proceedings against lawyers in Ukraine, which followed a law on “Advokatura and Lawyers’ Activities” adopted in 2012.
“Following the enactment of the new law, two parallel structures of self-governance of the legal profession were established, only one of which was registered,” said Gulnora Ishankhanova. “As a result of the conflict, disciplinary sanctions have been initiated against a number of lawyers on the grounds of organization and participation in ‘an alternative congress’ as well as other related and unrelated grounds.”
The ICJ commissioner visited Kiev on 20-22 June to examine the situation and meet with the main stakeholders including lawyers subjected to disciplinary action, relevant bodies of the Association of Lawyers and the HQDC and NGO representatives.
On 21 June, she observed disciplinary hearings against several lawyers including Larisa Gerasko, who had been disbarred on the grounds of submitting documents for state registration of a lawyers’ association of Zakarpatk Region, and Roman Martynovsky, a member of the HQDC, whose status as a lawyer was suspended for a period of six months for non-attendance of one meeting of this body.
The decision regarding lawyer Martynovsky was postponed until the following meeting of the HQDC.
“We are concerned that disciplinary action remains pending in a number of cases against lawyers involved in the creation of the unregistered lawyers’ association, the National Association of Lawyers,” Gulnora Ishankhanova added.
The ICJ recalls that, according to the UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers, “all disciplinary proceedings shall be determined in accordance with the code of professional conduct and other recognized standards and ethics of the legal profession and in the light of these principles”.
Disciplinary action against a lawyer may only be initiated for violations of published standards of professional conduct, and any disciplinary sanctions must be proportionate to the offence committed.
Where a disciplinary system allows for practically any form of conduct to be construed by the responsible disciplinary body as grounds sufficient for disbarment, the sanction is likely to be arbitrary and to violate international human rights law.
The ICJ expresses its gratitude to the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, the HQDC and others who facilitated or co-operated with the mission.
The ICJ will continue to monitor developments in the ongoing disciplinary action against lawyers in Ukraine and will in due course publish a more detailed report on the visit to Ukraine with recommendations.
Contact:
Róisín Pillay, Director, ICJ Europe Programme: +41 22 979 3830; e-mail: roisin.pillay(a)icj.org
Ukraine-ICJ welcomes decision to reinstate disbarred lawyer-press release-2013-rus (full text in pdf)
Photo by Serdar Yagci
Ukraine: draft law no. 8711 on “homosexual propaganda” violates human rights
The Verkhovna Rada, the Ukrainian parliament, voted on 2 October 2012 in favor of a bill that would ban “homosexual propaganda”. The ICJ and ILGA-Europe have condemned the draft law and called on Ukrainian authorities not to adopt it. Two hundred and eighty-nine out of 450 members of parliament supported the bill, which is now expected to move for a second round of reading in parliament later this month.
The organisations are deeply concerned about the impact of Draft Law no. 8711 on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Ukraine as well as the rights of everyone to the freedoms of expression, peaceful assembly and association. ICJ and ILGA-Europe urge the Ukrainian parliament to withdraw the bill from its agenda and call on the Chair of the Parliament and the President, who would both need to sign the bill in order for it to become law, to speak out against it.
The bill would modify several existing laws in Ukraine, including criminal law, and introduce sanctions for the import, production and distribution of products that would “promote” homosexuality. “Promotion of homosexuality” is itself undefined. “If voted into law, it would lead to the further marginalisation of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans community in the country and would limit the work of human rights defenders,” Evelyne Paradis, Executive Director of ILGA-Europe said.
ILGA-Europe and the ICJ believe that Draft Law no. 8711 is incompatible with international human rights law. First it is so vague that it fails to conform to the requirement that restrictions must be provided for by law. Under the draft law, it is impossible for an individual to determine what kind of expression is banned. Second, the asserted reasons for the “homosexual propaganda” ban fail the tests of proportionality and necessity. In other words, the restriction serves no permissible purpose. Third and finally, the homosexual propaganda ban discriminates against LGBT people by prohibiting public discourse on issues that matter to LGBT lives. “Restrictions on rights may not be discriminatory, and discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is clearly prohibited under international law,” said Alli Jernow, Senior Legal Adviser of the International Commission of Jurists.
The EU should raise these developments in the context of the monitoring of the implementation of the Visa Liberalisation Action Plan. Parliamentary discussion of this law clearly demonstrates that progress is stalled. If the bill passes a second reading, further negotiations with Ukraine should be delayed or ultimately suspended. We also call on the Council of Europe to unequivocally denounce Draft Law no. 8711 in representations to the Ukrainian government.
The law is expected to be discussed at a second hearing in the coming weeks. After that the Chair of the Parliament and the President would need to sign the bill before it would become official law.
ICJ and ILGA-Europe earlier this year issued a joint briefing paper on “homosexual propaganda bans” that have been enacted or proposed in Europe and other Eastern European countries.
Photo credit: Insight NGO
Recent News
South Africa: Constitutional Court’s affirmation that principles of judicial independence are fully applicable to military courts is a welcome step forward09 May 2025
EU: Lawyers and civil society call for mandatory humanitarian clause in anti-smuggling directive09 May 2025
EU: Access to a lawyer in juvenile justice proceedings remains a key concern in several EU Member States07 May 2025- Tunisia: Arbitrarily detained lawyer Ahmed Souab must be released and criminal charges dropped06 May 2025