Attorneys-at-law and bar associations: between private and public interest

Niš, 22.02.2024.

The ninth lecture, to the second generation of participants, was held as part of the training program Strengthening Capacities for Judicial Reform - southern Serbia by Dr. Katarina Golubović, an attorney-at-law from Belgrade and President of YUKOM. The lecture title is Attorneys-at-law and bar associations: between private and public interest. 

The lecture discussed the role of the legal profession/attorneys-at-law/bar association and its obligations to citizens and the legal order, emphasizing the bar associations' role in the judiciary's efficiency. It was pointed out the issue of initiating disciplinary proceedings against the attorney-at-law, with the aim of their exclusion from the bar, due to the provision of free legal aid, dealing with mediation and representation of associations, as well as the failure to initiate them, following reports of unscrupulous work of attorneys. There was also talk about the effectiveness of the free legal aid system in Serbia.

It was established that the legal profession remains in the shadows and needs to be considered when the factors of inefficiency and the problem of trials within a reasonable time are mentioned. However, it is not uncommon for procedural abuses to come precisely from the ranks of attorneys-at-law, who, by abusing procedural powers, delay proceedings for the sake of their own and their clients' interests. Such behavior is one of the most significant factors in the excessively long duration of proceedings in Serbia. On the other hand, irresponsible individuals, in this way, damage the reputation of the profession, which creates a generalization that harms attorneys-at-law, of whom there are many, who conscientiously perform the duties of their profession. The legal profession's responsibility for generating mass claims/lawsuits was also discussed.

The lecture was realized with the support of the Open Society Foundation.