Defending Rights in Russia
Lawyers, the State, and Legal Reform in the Post-Soviet Era
Description
Pamela Jordan’s engaging study of the Russian bar (advokatura)
provides a richly textured portrait of how, after the USSR’s
collapse, practising lawyers called advocates began to assume new,
self-defined roles as contributors to legal reform and defenders of
rights in Russia. Jordan argues that the post-Soviet advokatura as an
institution gained more, although not complete, autonomy from the state
as it struggled to redefine itself as a profession and suggests that
advocates’ work is supporting the growth of civil society and the
strengthening of human rights in Russia. However, she also warns that
such gains could be reversed if the Putin regime continues to flout due
process rights.
Reviews
Jordan’s book represents a major contribution to the study of Russian legal institutions, as well as post-Soviet Russian politics. As such, the book should be of interest to Russian specialists as well as a broader audience interested in comparative law and the development of civil society. Her exemplary scholarship includes thorough consideration of available literature as well as numerous interviews with leading Russian advocates and jurists… Nevertheless, Jordan’s comprehensive discussion of legal hisotyr and current practices will serve as mandatory reading for scholars interested in Russian politics and understanding Russia’s uneven attempts – both past and present – at legal reform.
- William E. Pomeranz, PhD, Attorney, Reed Smith, Washington DC
The struggle for legal reform in Russia, the famous Russian political cases, and the behavior of Russian courts get a lot of attention, but Russian lawyers themselves rarely do. How their role is changing, who sets the standards for their education and admission to the guild, how they earn a living, and what their contribution has been to modernizing the Russian legal system are matters little studied -- until Jordan's efficient account.
- Robert Levgold