Bar associations appeal to ECJ against ban on providing legal advice to Russian legal persons, entities or bodies
Advocaat.be (the Order of Flemish Bars), Avocats.be (l'Ordre des barreaux francophones et germanophone), and the two Brussels Bar Associations have decided to file an appeal with the European Court of Justice against the judgment handed down by the Court of First Instance of the European Union on 2 October 2024 in the case of the European sanctions against Russia.
Those sanctions provide that lawyers are prohibited from providing legal advice to Russian legal persons, entities or bodies, in matters not related to litigation.
Why?
The Orders criticise the sanctions for targeting an entire category of litigants, with no further distinction except that they involve Russian entities.
They also believe that the distinction between advice related to disputes and other legal advice is artificial. Indeed, the purpose of every legal opinion is to avoid disputes, as confirmed by the case-law of the Constitutional Court.
They further recall that not all trade with Russia is prohibited by the sanctions. Russian entities should therefore be able to inform themselves about their legal position in that regard.
The Orders stress that in doing so they are not expressing any sympathy with the Russian government. They are concerned with the fundamental principle of access to justice in the rule of law, which implies that anyone should be able to seek independent, confidential and expert advice from a lawyer.
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