You're reading: Kolesnichenko denies combining his parliamentary work with advocacy

Regions Party parliamentary faction member Vadym Kolesnichenko has said that he fulfills the demands of the law on status of Ukrainian MPs, the Regions Party's press service reported. 

“The media reported untrue information about me – that I, along with parliamentary work, have a valid advocacy certificate, No. 413. It’s possible to check the lack of authenticity of this information by opening the unified register of attorneys posted on the Web site of Supreme Qualification Bar Commission. It says that it [certificate] has been suspended,” the MP said.

According to him, the effect of his advocacy certificate was suspended on his written request in 2006, and since then he has stopped paying membership fees.

“Since 2006 I have participated in several court processes – not as an attorney, but as a representative of Sevastopol City Council in notorious cases on embezzlement of city lands, and essentially received no money remuneration,” Kolesnichenko said.

“This matter concerns the implementation of the demands of the law on the status of Ukrainian MPs, as well as the law on advocacy. A deputy mandate can’t be combined with advocacy… and this demand is being observed,” said the MP.

As reported, on Friday the Spilna Sprava (Common Cause) civil movement reported that it had discovered that 37 deputies from the Regions Party faction combine their work at the parliament and advocacy. The movement asked Deputy Parliamentary Chairman Ruslan Koshulynsky to appeal to the courts to terminate their deputy powers.

“The list include such well-known persons as Serhiy Kivalov, who has still failed to get rid of his advocacy certificate No. 608… Vadym Kolesnichenko, who also has such a certificate, No. 413, and attorney Inna Bohoslovska, certificate No. 459… Iryna Berezhna, who still is a private notary, is also on this list. The same concerns Artem Scherban, who illegally combines his parliamentary seat with the post of Ukrnafta financial director,” leader of the movement Oleksandr Danyliuk said.

According to him, the given information was received legally from the open sources: single registers of attorneys, notaries and heads of enterprises, establishments and organizations.

Earlier, on Feb. 19, Regions Party MP Volodymyr Mysyk wrote to the Verkhovna Rada’s leadership to appeal to the Higher Administrative Court of Ukraine demanding that it strip Batkivschyna faction MP and defender of Ukraine’s ex-premier Yulia Tymoshenko Serhiy Vlasenko of his deputy powers “because of his combination of parliamentary work with advocacy.”

Vlasenko said that he had appealed to the Council of Lawyers of Ukraine to cancel his advocacy certificate in order to avoid any “political insinuation.” He noted that, according to the current legislation, a lawyer’s right for advocacy is cancelled from the day of filing an official request for this.”