COMBINING THE POSITION OF A DEPUTY OF A MUNICIPAL ENTITY REPRESENTATIVE BODY (LOCAL COUNCILLOR) AND THE STATUS OF AN ADVOCATE: LEGISLATION AND JUDICIAL PRACTICE

The possibility of combining the position of a deputy of a municipal entity representative body11 and the status of an advocate is one of the topical issues of legislation and court practice. Previously, in the norms of the Federal Law "On Practice of Law and Advocacy in the Russian Federation" there was some contradiction on this issue. In 2019, the Constitutional Court of the Russian Federation formulated a position according to which advocate's substitution of the position of a deputy of a municipal entity representative body (when exercising powers on a non-permanent basis) does not contradict the Constitution of the Russian Federation and is possible, and the restriction for the occupation of the relevant position must comply with the criteria of proportionality, reasonableness and necessity. Subsequently, the Federal Law "On Practice of Law and Advocacy in the Russian Federation" was amended, which eliminated the contradictions that had previously existed in the law. However, a literal reading of the law indicates that attorneys must suspend their status (even if they exercise their powers on a non-permanent basis) if elected to the position of a deputy. Despite the elimination of contradictions in the norms of the law, the very prohibition on combining the position of a deputy exercising powers on a non-permanent basis and the status of an advocate was unexpected in the context of the legal position of the Constitutional Court. The present article investigates the question of expediency of fixing lawyers' obligation to suspend their status in case of election to the position of a deputy of a municipal entity representative body.