The police are investigating possible attempts by the National Agency for Corruption Prevention to reform the legal profession
The Office of the Prosecutor General has registered criminal proceedings concerning the possible abuse of power or official position by employees of the National Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (NAZK). The proceedings have been opened under case number 42026000000000480, provisionally classified under Part 1 of Article 364 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, according to the Ukrainian National Bar Association.
The pre-trial investigation has been entrusted to investigators from the Main Directorate of the National Police in Kyiv.
The case concerns circumstances related to the preparation of the draft Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2026–2030, which includes a section on ‘The Bar and Legal Aid’. At the end of 2025, the NACP held a public consultation on this part of the document.
During the discussion, representatives of the agency stated that, in accordance with the Roadmap on the Rule of Law, approved by Order of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine No. 475-r of 14 May 2025, the state is obliged to intervene in the activities of 16 institutions, among which the legal profession is listed.
The Ukrainian Bar Association stated that this position constitutes a distortion of the document’s content. The proposed initiatives were described as direct, gross and systematic interference by the executive branch in the activities of an independent constitutional institution.
A statement regarding a possible criminal offence was submitted by Yuriy Radzievsky, Chair of the Committee on Information Policy and Media Relations of the Ukrainian National Bar Association.
In his statement, he refers to a comprehensive analysis of issues in the field of ‘The Bar and Legal Aid’, which formed the basis for the relevant section of the strategy. The document identifies the legal profession as an area with a high level of corruption risks, and the proposed measures concern the internal organisation of the profession.
In particular, these include issues of bar self-governance, the self-financing system, procedures for obtaining the status of a lawyer, staff recruitment and professional development.
At the same time, these issues, in accordance with the Law “On the Legal Profession and Legal Practice”, fall within the sphere of the legal profession’s self-governance, which independently determines the organisation and activities of the profession. The independence of the legal profession is guaranteed by the Constitution of Ukraine.
“This situation is not about a professional discussion on anti-corruption policy. The problem is that the legal profession has effectively been portrayed as a sector with a high level of corruption risks, opaque financial management and widespread practices of misconduct. Such a generalised and negative portrayal of an independent constitutional institution affects the reputation of the bodies of bar self-governance, as well as undermining public trust in the profession as a whole and diminishing its prestige. Moreover, the NACP has no legal authority to reform the bar,” noted Yuriy Radzievsky.
According to him, the circumstances outlined in the statement must be verified as part of a pre-trial investigation.
