Statement by the chairs of the bar associations in the Nordic and Baltic countries: Martin Lavesen - Denmark, Imbi Jürgen – Estonia, Hanna Rähä-Mäntyharju – Finland, Sigurður Örn Hilmarsson – Iceland, Jānis Rozenbergs – Latvia, Mindaugas Kukaitis – Lithuania, Jon Wessel-Aas – Norway, Eva-Maj Mühlenbock – Sweden.
Today, October 25, is European Lawyers' Day, and as lawyers and bar associations we would like to mark the day by expressing our unconditional support for Ukraine.
We represent more than 31.000 lawyers in eight countries and we work to defend the legal principles upon which democracy and the Rule of Law are based. As Bar and Law Societies and lawyers, we have a special role to play in society. We are committed to work for promoting, improving, and securing the Rule of Law and we work to protect the possibility for any individual to exercise their equal and inalienable rights. Thus, lawyers also have a special responsibility to protect human rights.
We have strongly and unanimously condemned the unprovoked Russian invasion and expressed our firm support for Ukraine. Showing solidarity at this moment in time is a significant statement – especially for the people suffering from the invasion. It is worth remembering that we are united in the work to "maintain international peace and security."
In Europe, the member states of the EU have come together to introduce a series of sanctions with the purpose of putting pressure on the Russian regime and making it more difficult to continue this unlawful war of aggression. The sanctions are now far-reaching, and legal advice is also included since the introduction of the 8th package.
Bearing in mind that international human rights secure the right to legal representation in criminal proceedings for all and every citizen, we, lawyers and bar and law societies, must at the same time be willing to send a clear signal and put pressure on the aggressor. While ensuring the fulfilment of fundamental rights in a society based on the Rule of Law, we also must be prepared to act when it is needed.
In our view, the European sanctions packages maintain this balance by targeting legal advice in non-contentious matters. Standing in a criminal court of law, lawyers are prepared to offer all individuals' legal defence, but we must differentiate between such assignment and our role as legal advisors in non-contentious matters. Therefore, we support that we as a legal profession, stand together with the rest of Europe and contribute to the pressure placed on the Russian state through the sanctions by not offering legal advice to legal and natural persons covered by the sanctions.
We all desire an imminent end to the aggressions against Ukraine and full and unconditional restoration of Ukrainian territorial integrity. The Russian war against Ukraine is unlawful, undermining the Rule of Law, and we stand together in our efforts and insistence that the perpetrator must be held accountable and inevitably face the International Criminal Court.