Comparative review of the procedural and institutional setup of the functioning of lawyers in Armenia, Georgia, Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine

The comparative review was produced in the framework of the regional project ‘Strengthening the legal profession in line with European standards’, which is funded by the European Union and the Council of Europe and implemented by the Council of Europe under its ‘Partnership for Good Governance’ programme. The comparative review was conducted in November 2019 – February 2020.

The review demonstrates that the institutional set-up and the functioning of bar associations in the participating countries are generally compliant with existing European standards. The legal frameworks of these countries provide that the legal profession is independent and is exercised freely. The state authorities are involved to some extent in the functioning of bar associations in all countries through general regulatory function vested on them. In Belarus and Moldova, such involvement might be further assessed with a view to defining if it is not contrary to the European standards.