After years of deliberation, the Council of Europe has moved forward with a historic legal instrument designed to protect lawyers from growing threats, harassment, and violence.
The Convention for the Protection of Lawyers, set to be adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2025, aims to create binding legal safeguards for legal professionals across Europe and beyond. The move comes amid increasing reports of lawyers facing intimidation, state interference, and politically motivated prosecutions in several countries.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) overwhelmingly endorsed the Convention in a session on January 30, 2025, marking a pivotal moment for the legal profession and the broader fight for the rule of law.
Why Lawyers Need Protection Now More Than Ever
For years, legal professionals across the world have been caught in the crosshairs of authoritarian governments, targeted for simply doing their job.
Mr. Vladimir Vardanyan, the PACE rapporteur for the Convention, did not mince words in highlighting the urgency of legal protections.
“Lawyers, who are pivotal in upholding the rule of law and ensuring justice, are increasingly becoming targets of harassment, intimidation, and sometimes even violence,” Vardanyan said.
He cited cases such as Vadim Kobzev, Igor Sergunin, and Alexei Lipster, who were convicted in a sham trial in Russia, and Maxim Znak, a Belarusian lawyer sentenced to 10 years in prison for challenging the Lukashenko regime.
Consider the cases of Vadim KOBZEV, Igor SERGUNIN and Alexei LIPSTER, who were arrested in October 2023 on charges on participation in an extremist organisation and convicted to five and half years imprisonment in a sham trial.
Vladimir Vardanyan, the PACE rapporteur for the Convention
Maxim ZNAK, a prominent Belarusian lawyer, was sentenced to 10 years in a penal colony in September 2021 just because he contested the results of the election of Aleksandr LUKASHENKO.
These examples are emblematic in a broader crisis where lawyers face severe repercussions simply for fulfilling their professional duties. More than 1 700 lawyers have been prosecuted in Türkiye on vague charges related to terrorism following the 2016 coup attempt.
In the United Kingdom and Germany, lawyers have faced threats to their safety merely for their involvement in high-profile or politically sensitive cases.
As Mr Vardanyan underlined, the situation in Türkiye is even more alarming, with over 1,700 lawyers prosecuted on terrorism-related charges since the 2016 coup attempt. Many have faced trial simply for defending political opponents of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, an issue that continues to raise serious human rights concerns in Europe.
What is unique with the Convention?
A Landmark Convention with Global Implications The Convention, the first legally binding international treaty of its kind, seeks to establish clear rights for lawyers, including:
- Protection from threats, harassment, and violence,
- Freedom to practice law without interference,
- Safeguarding of lawyer-client confidentiality,
- Protection for unlawfully disbarred legal professionals,
- A monitoring body (GRAVO) to oversee compliance.
While existing international frameworks—such as the European Convention on Human Rights and UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers—offer some protections, the new Convention is unique in its enforceability, creating a binding legal standard that all signatory states must uphold.
Notably, the Convention is open to non-member states, allowing legal professionals outside Europe to benefit from its protections.
Support and Concerns from International Experts
Margaret Satterthwaite, UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers, hailed the Convention as a major step forward for the legal profession. “The free exercise of the legal profession contributes to the right to a fair trial, access to justice, and the oversight of state power,” Satterthwaite said, urging all states—including those outside Europe—to ratify the treaty.
However, concerns remain. PACE raised two major criticisms of the Convention:
- Lack of explicit provisions on state surveillance: The treaty does not address the rising use of spyware, such as Pegasus, to target lawyers and their clients.
- The risk of watered-down protections: Unlike some human rights conventions, this treaty does not explicitly prohibit states from making reservations, potentially allowing governments to opt out of key obligations.
The UN and legal watchdogs have urged the Council of Europe to address these gaps in future amendments or supplementary treaties.
What Happens Next?
The Convention is expected to be officially adopted by the Committee of Ministers in 2025 under the Luxembourg Presidency. After that, countries will be encouraged to sign and ratify the treaty, bringing its protections into force.
A dedicated expert group, GRAVO, will be tasked with monitoring compliance and investigating potential violations, ensuring that states adhere to the new legal framework. Meanwhile, legal advocates and human rights organizations are pushing for widespread ratification to ensure that the Convention does not become a symbolic gesture but a real, enforceable safeguard for lawyers worldwide.
Conclusion
The Convention for the Protection of Lawyers is a rare victory for the legal profession and human rights defenders at a time when state repression is on the rise. However, its success will depend on whether governments sign up and commit to real enforcement. For now, it remains a beacon of hope for thousands of lawyers risking their safety to uphold the law in the face of increasing state pressure.
Categories: International Advocacy