On 2 October 2024, the General Court of the European Union dismissed challenges to the EU ban on the provision of legal advice to Russian entities, introduced by the 2022 amendments to Council Regulation 833/2014 following Russia’s special operation in Ukraine.
In December 2022, the Brussels Bar Association (Ordre néerlandais des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles) and the Paris Bar Association (Ordre des avocats à la cour de Paris), supported by a number of legal organizations, including ACE-Avocats, opposed Article 5n of EU Regulation No 833/2014, in order to challenge the European Union sanctions imposed on Russia. These sanctions include restrictions on the provision of legal services to Russian government organizations and state bodies established in Russia.
The 2022 sanctions restrict EU lawyers from providing legal advice to the Russian government and Russian entities, except in cases related to judicial, administrative or arbitration proceedings. Lawyers’ associations argue that the ban is unjustified and undermines legal protections essential to the rule of law.
In three joined cases, Ordre néerlandais des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles v. Council (T-797/22), Ordre des avocats à la cour de Paris and Couturier v. Council (T-798/22) and ACE v. Council (T-828/22), the Court ruled in favour of the EU Council.
The General Court held that the sanctions did not infringe the right to legal representation in legal proceedings, as the ban only applied to legal advice not related to legal proceedings. It also stressed that advice to individuals and legal services related to legal matters were exempt from the ban, thus preserving the fundamental role of lawyers in the maintenance of justice.
The Court also stressed that, while lawyers play an important role in protecting the rule of law, the EU may impose restrictions for purposes of general interest, provided that they do not disproportionately affect the essence of the duties of the legal profession. Ultimately, the Court ruled that the ban on legal advice services was consistent with these objectives and justified in the context of EU sanctions against Russia.
The judgments can be found here (T-797/22), here (T-798/22) and here (T-828/22).
PRESS RELEASE No. 155/24 Luxembourg, 2 October 2024
/Extract/
Judgments of the General Court in Cases T-797/22 | Ordre néerlandais des avocats du barreau de Bruxelles and Others v Council, T-798/22 | Ordre des avocats à la cour de Paris and Couturier v Council and T-828/22 | ACE v Council Restrictive measures in response to the war in Ukraine: the prohibition on providing legal advisory services to the Russian Government and to entities established in Russia is valid The General Court confirms the importance of the fundamental right of all persons to be advised by a lawyer for the purposes of conducting, pre-empting or anticipating judicial proceedings and finds that the prohibition at issue does not call that right into question In 2022, …, the Council of the European Union adopted a series of restrictive measures aimed at putting pressure on Russia to put an end to its war …. The measures taken include a prohibition on providing legal advisory services … Subject to certain exceptions and exemptions, those acts prohibit any person in a position to provide legal advisory services (practising, in particular, in the territory of the European Union) from providing such services to the Russian Government or to legal persons, entities or bodies established in Russia. The prohibition is designed to further increase the pressure exerted on Russia.
The official press release can be found here
Lawyers of the Moscow law firm Avista are ready to provide legal assistance to Russian and foreign clients, including on issues “with a foreign element”. As part of bilateral cooperation with Danish lawyers, we attract the necessary resources to resolve complex issues involving legal entities created and operating both in Russia and abroad.