Attorney Dmytro Yagunov Addresses NAAU Leadership on Recognition of International Conferences as a Form of Professional Development

Attorney Dmytro Yagunov has submitted a formal appeal to the Council of Advocates of Ukraine, proposing systemic amendments to the Procedure for Continuing Professional Development of Ukrainian Advocates.

In his appeal, Dmytro Yagunov proposes amending the relevant Procedure to clearly and unambiguously provide for the recognition of Ukrainian advocates’ participation in conferences of leading international bar associations — ECBA, CCBE, IBA, and others — as an independent form of professional development, with credit hours awarded proportionally to the duration of the event.

In support of his proposal, the advocate puts forward four key arguments.

First, participation in international conferences represents the highest form of professional experience-sharing and promotes the harmonisation of domestic advocacy practice with pan-European standards in the fields of criminal justice and human rights protection.

Second, the refusal to recognise such participation as a form of professional development sends a misleading signal to the legal community and impedes the integration of Ukrainian advocates into the common European legal space.

Third, for international partners, this situation is difficult to comprehend and may adversely affect NAAU’s reputation in the eyes of the ECBA, CCBE, and other organisations.

Fourth, in the context of martial law and heightened European attention to Ukraine, the participation of Ukrainian advocates in international events is not merely a matter of professional development, but also one of representation and the upholding of the standing of the domestic legal profession.