Participation of a lawyer in disciplinary proceedings against judges

Abstract

The article examines certain aspects of a lawyer’s participation in disciplinary proceedings against a judge. It is noted that a lawyer in disciplinary proceedings against a judge can be both the initiator, upon whose complaint the disciplinary proceedings were opened, and the judge’s representative for the purpose of protecting his rights and interests. The focus of the study is on the representation of judges by a lawyer. Such interest is due to a number of reasons. First, since August 2020, the High Council of Justice has accumulated a significant number of disciplinary proceedings against judges, the resumption of proceedings of which took place only recently. Secondly, advocacy during the war underwent a significant transformation, as the demand for advocacy services changed. Many areas of lawyer practice have lost their relevance, which requires lawyers to review their approaches to their own professional development and areas of professional activity. In this context, a significant array of disciplinary proceedings against judges opens up new opportunities for lawyers. Their participation in the disciplinary procedure in relation to the judge is a promising direction for the development of the specialization of advocacy.
 Representation of a judge by a lawyer in disciplinary proceedings is a rather specific type of lawyer’s activity. After all, as a jurisdictional procedure, disciplinary proceedings against judges must meet the requirements of a «fair court» within the meaning of Art. 6 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, which has many nuances. In particular, we are talking about the observance of such principles as openness, equality of parties, competitiveness and others in disciplinary proceedings. At the same time, the legal status of a judge implies a set of specific rights and duties of a judge along with numerous guarantees of his independence, which must be observed by all without exception. In addition, the legislation regulating the procedure for bringing a judge to disciplinary responsibility has recently undergone significant changes. Collectively, this requires a significant intellectual resource from the lawyer, which will allow to effectively protect the rights and interests of the judge in disciplinary proceedings, as well as to reasonably position oneself on the market of legal services in this segment of the lawyer’s specialization.