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EU court upholds Russia legal-services ban

An EU court has dismissed a challenge to EU restrictions on the provision of legal services to Russia that were introduced after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The measures taken, which apply to those practising law in the EU, include a prohibition on providing legal-advisory services to the Russian government or to legal persons, entities, or bodies established in Russia.

A number of Belgian lawyers’ groups had challenged the restrictions, arguing that they infringed the fundamental rights guaranteeing access to legal advice from a lawyer, the professional secrecy and duty of independence of lawyers, the values of the rule of law, and the principles of proportionality and legal certainty.

The General Court, however, found that the right to be advised and represented by a lawyer in the context of existing or probable litigation “is not called into question by the prohibition at issue”.

Judicial proceedings

It added that the EU ban did not concern legal services provided in connection with judicial, administrative, or arbitral proceedings.

“The prohibition thus applies only to legal advice that has no link with judicial proceedings. The General Court adds that legal advice provided to natural persons, in particular, does not fall within the scope of the prohibition,” it stated.

As the ban did not apply to advice linked to judicial proceedings, there was no interference with the independence of lawyers, the court found.

It added that the EU could place limitations on the role of lawyers, where they were justified by “objectives of general interest”, provided that they were not disproportionate.