Lawyers’ group: justice ministry demands that foreign clients’ data be shared

March 29, BPN. The Minsk City Bar Association has notified the capital’s legal consultancies that they must report all foreign clients, except for Russian nationals, to the Ministry of Justice.

Prava na Abaronu (Right to Defense), a human rights group, says the requirement comes from Justice Minister Siarhiej Chamienka and applies to foreigners physically present in Belarus.

The consultancies are required to submit the names, surnames, registration details, and phone numbers of their foreign clients, although this information is private, the group said. “Therefore, the minister’s order violates not only the internationally accepted principle of attorney-client privilege but also the client’s right to privacy,” it said.

The requirement undermines trust between the client and the lawyer, as well as “the very prestige of the legal profession,” it added.

Alaksandr Łukašenka says lawyers should be “under control.”