Abstract
The article examines the legal nature of legal secrecy in Ukraine and international experience in information that falls under confidential information between the client and the lawyer. It is determined that one of the key responsibilities of a lawyer, based on the trusting nature of the relationship between them, is usually the observance of the principle of confidentiality, and accordingly, one of the components of such a principle is the secrecy of the lawyer. At the same time, the legal secrecy guaranteed by the law not only defines the rights and obligations of the participants in the proceedings, but also has a deep moral and ethical content, which makes it one of the most important principles of advocacy. Emphasis is placed on the fact that an important strategic task of the Ukrainian state is to enter the European political and legal space, which necessitates systemic reforms in all spheres of public relations. The new UN principles and other international instruments mandate that «governments shall recognize and ensure the confidentiality of any communication and consultation between lawyers and their clients within the framework of their professional relations». It is concluded that in order for a lawyer to perform his duties professionally, it is necessary to enshrine the following guarantees in equal legislation, which will be aimed at implementing the principle of confidentiality in advocacy: to provide for the right of witnesses present during a search regarding the procedure for conducting such investigative (search) actions with their obligatory entry in the protocol of the relevant investigative (search) action, to determine certain requirements for these persons regarding their education, experience, place of work, etc. In particular, these may be the requirements that the law establishes for lay judges. At the same time, a lawyer should be given the right to refuse to maintain secrecy in the event of information about a particularly serious or serious crime against an individual being prepared. The refusal of a lawyer to maintain secrecy in the event of receiving information about such a crime must be preceded by actions of the lawyer aimed at preventing the crime. The issue of the possibility of disclosing a secret in such a case should be decided upon notification (statement) of the lawyer by the highest body of advocacy self-government - the Council of Advocates of Ukraine. Keywords: lawyer, advocacy, confidential information, legal secrecy, principles of advocacy, international experience, European Court of Human Rights
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