Illegal Obstruction of Legal Activity in the Criminal Legislation of the Russian Federation

This graduate qualification work is a study of the problems of criminal protection of attorney's activity from illegal obstruction in the Russian Federation. Despite the fact that the legislator has provided all kinds of guarantees, powers and immunities for the attorney to effectively exercise their functions, the legal community has noted an increasing number of cases of pressure on attorneys, which have begun to carry political overtones. Due to the fact that the criminal law does not establish liability for obstructing the activities of lawyers, so the prohibition is only declarative in nature. In a situation where the guarantees of independence of the Bar are of declarative nature, the possibility of illegal obstruction of lawyers' activities arises, and the right of citizens to defense cannot be fully ensured. Therefore, the central place in the work is taken by the analysis of the provisions of article 294.1, supplemented to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, establishing criminal liability for obstructing the legitimate activities of a lawyer. In addition, sufficient attention is paid to the reasons for the need to criminalize these actions, as well as the experience of foreign countries in the context of establishing criminal penalties for obstructing the legal activities of attorneys.