The National Union of Romanian Bars had a reaction in the case of Laura Vicol, who was attacked by a certain part of the press, after she was elected president of the Legal Commission of the Chamber of Deputies.
–
“At the UN Congress in Havana in 1990, it was established, as a basic principle, that lawyers, in the practice of the profession, should not be assimilated to clients or their clients’ lawsuits. The UNBR Standing Committee considers that blaming the professional activity of a lawyer elected to a public position in the Romanian Parliament is extremely dangerous for society and harmful to the public perception of the legal profession.
As in any democratic state, the occupation of public positions within the political structures of the state is carried out on the basis of political negotiations and the internal criteria of the political groups. UNBR welcomes the involvement of lawyers in Parliament’s specialized committees, believing that their professional experience can be useful in the legislative process.
UNBR notes that sometimes the political struggle is waged on other fronts – unfortunately – outside of doctrine or political interests. Thus, the situation is reached in which a lawyer is professionally blamed as a side effect of a political appeal.
The UNBR Standing Committee has constantly monitored and analyzed abuses of the legal profession and condemns any message that may create a fundamentally wrong perception of the lawyer’s identification with his client. The right to a lawyer benefits from constitutional protection; therefore, every citizen has the right to a fair trial. The lawyer can never be identified with the client or his client’s case, no matter how tempting and seemingly useful such an attack on the lawyer is by professional or political opponents – especially in the case where the lawyer in question holds a position. important policy.
UNBR ensures at all times that there are no derogations from the principles of non-identification of lawyers with its clients or their causes and reaffirms, whenever necessary, that these are fundamental principles, enshrined in the most comprehensive international regulatory framework that protects the right to access to legal aid and the independent functioning of the legal profession: Basic principles on the role of lawyers, adopted at the 8th United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Prisoners, 1990, Havana.
Together with national and international lawyers ‘organizations, UNBR points out the importance of full state integration, both in law and in political decision-making, in the promotion and protection of lawyers’ rights, duties and prerogatives, and in the recognition, support and protection of the vital role. that lawyers and the legal profession have in supporting the rule of law, in promoting and protecting human rights, in accordance with the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers ”, was the reaction of Traian Briciu, President of UNBR.
– .
