Nature of the Prohibition:

Article 5n of Regulation 833/2014 imposes a ban on provision of legal services to, in particular, legal persons, entities or bodies established in Russia. The prohibition does not apply to the provision of services which are  necessary for the exercise of the right of defence in judicial, administrative or arbitral proceedings in a EU Member State or for the recognition or enforcement of a judgement or an arbitration award rendered in a EU Member State.

Submissions of the Applicants:

• The EU Charter of Fundamental Rights guarantees the right of access to legal advice from a lawyer in both contentious and non-contentious matters;

• The right to seek legal advice is inseparable from the right of defence;

• The distinction drawn by the Council between legal advice which is  necessary for the exercise of the right of defence in judicial, administrative or arbitral proceedings and other legal advice is inappropriate;

• The procedures for seeking authorisation for the provision of legal advisory services laid down by the exemption provisions require the lawyers to disclose confidential information to the competent authorities which interferes with the professional secrecy of lawyers.

Decision of EU Court:

The EU Court upheld the prohibition making the following conclusions:

• The prohibition on provision of legal services is proportionate given the exemptions and availability of authorisations. In particular, the prohibition does not apply to natural persons;

• The prohibition on provision of legal advice does not preclude the lawyer to carry out a prior assessment of the legal situation of a Russian person seeking advice, with the aim of determining whether the right of defence of such person has to be ensured in respect of ongoing or pending proceedings or for the purposes of avoiding such proceedings;

• The limitations are justified if they meet objectives of general interest recognised by the EU;

• The prohibition does not infringe the professional secrecy of lawyers as lawyers are not required to share any information with the competent authorities without their client’s consent.

Therefore, despite the fact that the prohibition was upheld, the court made an important conclusion that the European lawyers are not precluded from providing legal advice permitting to determine whether the right to defence has to be ensured prior to any dispute actually occurring.