The essence and social purpose of advocacy: a comparative legal discourse

Abstract

Advocacy comes from the latin word advocare, which means a person who is turned to when help is needed. In the Middle Ages, an advocatus usually acted as a representative of a feudal lord or an institution, such as a local abbey. As societydeveloped, the concept of advocacy also changed. Today, advocacy still has the same meaning - a person called to advocate for another, but instead of being the spokesman or legal representative of a powerful ruler or church, modern advocatesusually advocate or defend specific interests and rights.Article 59 of the Basic Law of the country proclaims a dogmatic idea, which consists in guaranteeing every citizen, excluding anymanifestation of discrimination, the right to professional legal assistance. In turn, the concentration of the social orientation of the legal profession can be traced in Article 131 with note 2, which delegates the exclusive right to represent public interests in court, as well as defense against criminal charges, to the bar. In turn, the functional purpose of the advocacy as a single, independent, professional, human rights institution, which consists in the protection of the rights, freedoms and legitimate interests of individuals, is implemented on the principles of the rule of law, legality, independence enshrined in the Law of Ukraine «On Advocacy and Advocacy», confidentiality and avoidance of conflict of interest.The development of the rule of law is impossible without the proper functioning of legal institutions whose activities are aimed at protecting human rights and freedoms. First of all, the scope of the professional rights of lawyers and their duties, the degree of independence, the guarantees of practicing the legal profession, the provision of legal assistance to citizens, the professionalism and availability of legal tools, and the observance of human rights in the process of carrying out activities testify to the democracy of the legal profession. Therefore, at this stage of the development of the science of constitutional law,it is extremely relevant and expedient to study the essence and social role of a lawyer in the life of civil society, which is important, through the prism of the provisions of the national and foreign concepts.