UN Special Rapporteurs challenged the Russian government over the legal profession's "capture" and the unlawful "advocates' monopoly" in Russia

Two materials are presented for your attention.

The first contains an Allegation Letter (AL RUS 13/2025), sent on December 29, 2025, by five UN mandate holders to the Government of the Russian Federation. The Communication notes a profound institutional crisis within the Russian legal profession, manifested in the violation of the basic principles of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The UN Special Rapporteurs explicitly condemn the vicious practice of equating lawyers with their clients, express extreme concern regarding the risks of the draft law on the "advocates' monopoly," and point out systemic violations of freedom of expression and obstacles in accessing clients. The communication is a crucial international legal act that elevates the problem of the suppression of the Russian legal profession to the highest interstate level.

The second contains a scientific and practical analysis of the Allegation Letter No. AL RUS 13/2025 sent by UN mandate holders to the Government of the Russian Federation. The author, a doctor of sciences, examines the nature of this UN document and conducts a comparative analysis of its provisions with the conclusions of previously published independent reports on the institutional crisis of the Russian legal profession. It substantiates that the concepts of state "capture" of the legal profession, repressive corporate rulemaking, and disciplinary arbitrariness are being legitimized at the international level. Special attention is paid to the destructive nature of the upcoming draft law on the "advocates' monopoly" and the facts of systemic criminal prosecution of lawyers. The key questions raised by the UN before the Russian authorities are considered, and the possible vectors of the state's official responses are forecasted. The conclusion is drawn that the reviewed UN document has crucial historical significance for documenting gross violations of international law and for the struggle to preserve an independent legal profession in Russia.

Both materials are available for download on the "Eurasian advocacy" journal website: http://www.eurasian-advocacy.ru/skachat-zhurnal and on the "CyberLeninka" website: https://cyberleninka.ru/journal/n/evraziyskaya-advokatura?i=1159424