Establishing responsibility for obstructing the legitimate activities of a lawyer: trends and prospects

By providing for punishment for crimes against justice (Chapter 31 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), the legislator protects one of the main branches of governmentlaid down in the Constitution of the Russian Federation. Currently, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation contains a norm providing for liability for interference in any form in the activities of a court, prosecutor, investigator or person conducting an inquiry in order to obstruct the administration of justice, as well as in order to impede a comprehensive, complete and objective investigation of the case (Article 294 of the Criminal Code). However, there is no similar criminal norm for interference in the professional activity of a lawyer. The article analyzes the state of violations of the rights of lawyers in connection with the exercise of professional activity, the issue of their sufficient protection from criminal encroachments, and also reflects an assessment of the expediency of establishing a new criminal norm in the law.