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About the advocacy of the Grodno region
On June 26,
1922 the Central Executive Committee of the Belarusian Soviet Socialist Republic
(BSSR) adopted the Provisions on Advocacy, this date being considered the
starting point in the history of the advocacy of the Republic of Belarus.
The advocacy of the Grodno region is
directly related to the centuries-old history of advocacy in the territory of
Belarus.
For the first time the rules of law for advocates were contained in the Statute
of the Great Duchy of Lithuania of 1529 – in this first full code of feudal law
of the Great Duchy of Lithuania.
The territory of the Grodno region
with the capital in Novogrudok was a part of this state structure; that is why
we have the right to consider the Grodno region to be that part of Belarus where
the institute of advocacy found for the first time its legal regulation.
Significant amendments to the
said Status concerning advocacy were made in 1566 and 1588, the Statute
remaining in force until 1840.
At that time advocates were called “procurators”.
In the supplement to the
Statute of 1566 the rules of advocate’s courtesy were formulated, advocates’
responsibility for violation of their duties (“damage to the client”) was
established, the obligation of courts was formulated to provide an advocate for
those who needed him (“who could not speak or arrange his speeches in a proper
way”).
In the supplement to the Statute of 1588 regulations of rendering free legal aid
to widows, orphans and the handicapped were contained.
At the beginning of the 19th
century the work of advocacy in Novogrudok managed Mikhail Mitskevich (father of
poet Adam Mitskevich); presently his house accommodates Adam Mitskevich’s
museum; the other house where his land-steward used to live accommodated up to
quite a recent time the court and a legal aid agency.
At that time in
Novogrudok 10-13 persons were engaged in law enforcement, they all were esteemed
and wealthy people. Mikhail Mitskevich himself was a widely known defender of
civil rights. He was in the focus of progressive judgments on the role of law
and equality of people before law.
The history of advocacy
of the Grodno region as an integral part of Belarus from the end of the 19th
century till present time has been in details described in a large number of
publications of the professor of the Belarusian State University
I.I.Martinovich.
But it should be taken into
account that on the 19th of March 1921 a peace treaty between Russia and
Ukraine, on the one side, and Poland, on the other side, was signed in Riga
according to which Western Belarus was recognized as a part of Poland,
respectively the territory of the Grodno region and the population residing on
it was in the period of 1922-1939 under the rule of Poland. There was advocacy
at that time as well. So in Grodno the advocates were united in the “Advocates’
Association of the city of Grodno”. This organization included both the
advocates who had previously lived here as well as those who came here from
Poland. For a long period of time the advocacy was headed by Józef Dąmbrowo, as
advocates worked Kozlovski, Gorbachevski, Shafalovich, Makal, Litvinov and
others. But for ordinary people advocate’s aid was practically unobtainable.
After liberation of Western
Belarus by Soviet troops on September 17, 1939 they began to form and bring into
action in the territory of the region advocatory bodies analogical to those
which had been functioning in the rest of the territory of Belarus. Under the
German occupation from June 1941 until July 1944 advocacy was out of function.
September 26, 1944 is
considered to be the starting-point of the postwar history of advocacy in the
Grodno region.
On this day Nadezhda Ivanovna
Chistiakova, who was appointed as the Acting Chairwoman of the Organization
Bureau of the Grodno Bar by the People’s Commissar of Justice of the BSSR, held
a sitting of the Organization Bureau which made a decision of formation of the
Grodno Regional Bar admitting to its membership the first advocates who were
attached hereto: Alexei Leontievich Zolotukhin, Vasili Yakovlevich Seredevski,
Vadim Nikolaevich Chernitski (all the three appointed as advocates in Grodno)
and Andrei Fiodorovich Fiodorov who was appointed as the Head of the Legal Aid
Agency of the Volkovysk district.
At subsequent ordinary sittings
of the said Organization Bureau new lawyers were admitted as members of the Bar
and sent to work to bigger towns and districts centers of the region.
In compliance with the
Order of the People’s Commissar of Justice of the BSSR of July 23, 1945 Nikolai
Petrovich Stasevich was appointed as the acting Chairman of the Organization
Bureau of the Bar, and later in November 1948 he was confirmed in the office of
the first postwar Chairman of the Presidium of the Regional Bar and worked in
this capacity until February 1948.
Subsequently, as the chairmen of the
Presidium of the Grodno Regional Bar were appointed:
Aleksandr Alexeevich Zolotukhin (April 1948 – May 1954),
Stepan Pavlovich Kozhakin (May 1954 – May 1958),
Daniil Andreevich Shivenev (May 1958 – April 1978),
Mikhail Ivanovich Khvesenia (April 1978 – April 1987),
Vladimir Trofimovich Chernik (April 1987 – till present time).
The number of the members of
the Bar was replenished from year to year, by 1947 legal aid agencies were
created in all the region’s districts. If any of the agencies remained for a
certain period of time without a permanent advocate, the advocates of the
neighboring districts were temporarily allotted to this district.
The Bar was organizationally strengthened under the Chairman of the Presidium
A.A.Zolotukhin. But fundamental changes in organizational strengthening, intake
of qualified staff, increase of authority of advocacy and to a certain extent in
material and technical supply of the legal aid agencies took place in the period
when the Chairman of the Presidium was D.A.Shivenev.
With election of M.I.Khvesenia
to the position of the Chairman of the Presidium the work of the Bar on increase
of professional standard and control over the quality of fulfillment of
professional duties by advocates was strengthened.
In the subsequent period all the positive traditions of the Bar found support,
much attention was and is still paid to both quantitative and qualitative growth
of the Bar, material and technical supply of legal aid agencies, increase of
professional level of the advocates, observation of rules of professional
courtesy, strengthening of authority of advocacy.
In formation of the
advocacy of the Grodno region the heads of legal aid agencies play a very
important role. Among them such names as Abram Aronovich Yamnitski und Alevtina
Borisovna Olshevskaya (Grodno), Boris Ilyich Zlotnik und Elena Aleksandrovna
Liamina (Grodno district), Ivan Vasilyevich Shvaibovich (Volkovysk), Tamara
Dmitrievna Kostiakova (Lida) deserve to be mentioned in the first line.
At present the biggest collectives of legal aid agencies of the Oktiabrski and
the Leninski districts of the city of Grodno are worthily headed by Mikhail
Petrovich Lugachev and Larisa Evgenievna Belaya who managed to organize the work
of the agencies in the proper way, who enjoy authority of their colleagues and
share their experience with other agencies.
In the course of all
period of existence of advocacy in the Grodno region widely known advocates at
different times were: Abram Aronovich Yamnitski, Iosif Yakovlevich Nisnevich,
Boris Ilyich Zlotnik, Ivan Vasilievich Shvaibovich, Alevtina Borisovna
Olshevskaya, Elena Aleksandrovna Liamina, Ivan Stepanovich Cherlenok, Boris
Fiodorovich Gelimson, Isabella Iosifovna Posherstnukova. The names of these
bright, talented people will forever go down the history of advocacy of this
country.
Among the present-day generation of advocates there are a lot of qualified
specialists who enjoy popularity among the population and authority among the
juridical circles – here are some of the names: Mikhail Ivanovich Khvesenia,
Liudmila Aleksandrovna Azovkina, Larisa Konstantinovna Borisova, Liudmila
Mikhailovna Butrim, Natalia Leontievna Goncharuk, Tamara Petrovna Goraeva,
Galina Zinovievna Ivanova, Alla Grigorievna Kovalenko, Valentina Mikhailovna
Korzun, Elena Ivanovna Kisel, Valentina Pavlovna Medved, Svetlana Vasilievna
Pyrskaya, Leopold Vitoldovich Pyrski, Irina Romanovna Smal, Elena Stepanovna
Snitko, Svetlana Dmitrievna Shiriayeva, Yanina Eduardovna Yurgilevich.
Separately should be mentioned
Liudmila Aleksandrovna Kozyreva who has been performing for a long time the
duties of the Deputy Chairwoman of the Presidium of the Bar, who possesses
indisputable authority, who generously transfers her experience to others,
especially to the young. She was granted the title of honor “Merited Lawyer of
the Republic of Belarus”.
We are satisfied with the fresh
forces of the Bar – Vadim Valerievich Cherepitsa, Igor Aleksandrovich
Saza-novich, Aleksandr Yurivich Birilov, Igor Tadeushevich Silvanovich, Evgeni
Ivanovich Dembitski, Irina Nikolaevna Poleshchuk and many others. The
combination of experienced advocates with qualified young specialists is the
keystone of the creative potential of the Bar.
At the moment the Bar lists 159 persons
(110 female and 49 male) i.e. one advocate per 7,400 people of the region.
22 legal aid agencies are
functioning including the Specialized Agency “YurExpert” in the city of Grodno,
with creation of which the intention to increase the level of work of lawyers in
the sphere of business as well as in the matters of intellectual property and
real estate was materialized. Successful work of the Specialized Agency
“YurExpert” is determined not only by the fact that it is a team like-minded
people, but also due to the fact that the advocates actively work on the
increase of their professional level and readily exchange experience with their
colleagues. Among the advocates of this agency one should single out Siarhei
Nikolaevich Makarchuk and Siarhei Georgievich Yaroshevich who enjoy deserved
recognition and authority among the advocates’ circles. The head of the agency
is Vadim Valerievich Cherepitsa.
There are legal aid agencies in
all towns and districts of the region, none of them employing less than two
advocates. There is a reserve list of more than 60 persons to be admitted to the
Bar.
Under the Presidium the
Methodological Council and the Qualifying Board consisting of the most
experienced advocates have been formed and actively wok.
All the legal aid agencies occupy the premises providing normal working
conditions for the work of advocates and reception of citizens, these conditions
are being improved within the limits of the possible.
At the passed report-back election
conference held in March 2003 concrete lines of improvement of activities of the
regional advocacy were mapped out in order to fulfill the main task of rendering
qualified legal aid to the population, organizations, enterprises and other
economic entities while execution of protection of their rights, freedoms and
legitimate interests.
May 2003
V.CHERNIK,
Merited Lawyer of the Republic of Belarus,
Chairman of the Presidium of the Grodno Regional Bar. |
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