Belarusian Lawyers To Take Oath

The amended Law On Advocacy and Legal Practice provides for it.

The law was amended with Article 11.1, which is called "Lawyer's Oath", belaruspartisan.org reports.

According to it, "in accordance with the procedure and terms established by the Belarusian Republican Bar Association, a lawyer who has joined the territorial bar association takes the lawyer's oath with the following content:

"I, (last name, first name, middle name (if any)), solemnly swear honestly and conscientiously to perform the duties of an attorney and to defend the rights, freedoms, and interests of clients, under the guidance of the Constitution of the Republic of Belarus, the laws of the Republic of Belarus and the Code of Professional Ethics for the Attorney."

We remind, that the bar is formally an independent institution, while the oath is given by civil servants, who act on behalf of and by the instructions of the Republic of Belarus – judges, servicemen, employees of the Investigative Committee, etc. Attorneys are not part of them, therefore the lawyer's oath is some kind of legal nonsense.

The text of the oath looks correct only at first glance as well. It is well known that Aliaksandr Lukashenka often substitutes the laws with his decrees. However, lawyers are not obliged to swear allegiance to "sources of law," penned by the ruler.