Union of Defense Attorneys from the Czech Republic

The Union of Defense Attorneys from the Czech Republic (Unie obhájců České republiky, z. s.) is a voluntary, non-political professional association of lawyers who primarily practice in criminal matters. It was founded on 10 May 2014 and operates independently of the Czech Bar Association. The Union's stated purpose is to oversee legality and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the constitutional order of the Czech Republic, and to protect against violations of those rights in criminal proceedings, especially the right to defense counsel under Article 40(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. It also protects the interests and rights of all persons, including defense attorneys, operating in the Czech Republic. The Union's main activities include preparing and issuing expert opinions (stanoviska) that draw attention to cases of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms and to unlawful conduct by bodies active in criminal proceedings. It initiates activities against such violations. The association is funded by contributions from its members. Regular membership is open to attorneys or established European attorneys under Act No. 85/1996 Coll., on the Legal Profession, whose practice has not been suspended. The Union's bodies are the member assembly, the presidium, the supervisory commission, and the arbitration commission. The presidium is the statutory body that manages the association's activities and acts on its behalf. The founding members and presidium members are JUDr. Tomáš Sokol, Mgr. Lukáš Trojan, JUDr. Marek Nespala, JUDr. Petr Toman, prof. JUDr. Bc. Tomáš Gřivna, Ph.D., JUDr. Filip Seifert, MBA, and JUDr. Václav Vlk. Most of them at that time represented actors in the so-called Nagyová case. JUDr. Tomáš Sokol has served as president since 2014. The vice-presidents are prof. JUDr. Bc. Tomáš Gřivna, Ph.D., and Mgr. Lukáš Trojan. The Union maintains an active public presence through its website, where it publishes news and opinions. Recent items include a December 2025 statement welcoming a judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Černý and others (Lichnovský, Kočí, Čapčuch and Medňanská) against the Czech Republic (applications nos. 37514/20 and others), in which the ECtHR found a serious violation of the right to confidentiality of communication between attorney and client. In August 2026, the Union issued Opinion No. 2/2026 regarding another leak of information from a criminal file, responding to an article published on Seznam Zprávy on 12 August 2026 about a court sending a spiritual leader into custody on charges of rape and torture. The Union continues to monitor and comment on criminal proceedings and the conduct of authorities.

The Union of Defense Attorneys from the Czech Republic (Unie obhájců České republiky, z. s.) was founded on 10 May 2014 as a voluntary, non-political professional association of lawyers practicing primarily in criminal matters. It was established outside the Czech Bar Association, the statutory self-governing body of the Czech legal profession. The founding members and initial presidium members were JUDr. Tomáš Sokol, Mgr. Lukáš Trojan, JUDr. Marek Nespala, JUDr. Petr Toman, prof. JUDr. Bc. Tomáš Gřivna, Ph.D., JUDr. Filip Seifert, MBA, and JUDr. Václav Vlk. Most of them at that time represented actors in the so-called Nagyová case, a high-profile Czech political corruption and abuse-of-power case. JUDr. Tomáš Sokol has served as president since the Union's founding in 2014. The vice-presidents are prof. JUDr. Bc. Tomáš Gřivna, Ph.D., and Mgr. Lukáš Trojan. The Union's purpose is to oversee legality and respect for fundamental rights and freedoms guaranteed by the Czech constitutional order, and to protect against violations, harm, and diminution of those rights and freedoms in criminal proceedings. This includes especially the right to defense counsel under Article 40(3) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms. The Union also protects the interests and rights of all persons, including defense attorneys, operating in the Czech Republic. Its main activities include preparing and issuing expert opinions (stanoviska) that highlight cases of violations of fundamental rights and freedoms and unlawful conduct by bodies active in criminal proceedings. It initiates activities against such violations. The association is funded by contributions from its members. Regular membership is open to attorneys or established European attorneys under Act No. 85/1996 Coll., on the Legal Profession, whose practice has not been suspended. The Union's bodies are the member assembly, the presidium, the supervisory commission, and the arbitration commission. The presidium is the statutory body that manages the association's activities and acts on its behalf in accordance with the law. The Union maintains a public presence through its official website, where it publishes news and opinions. On 18 December 2025, it published a statement welcoming the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the case Černý and others (Lichnovský, Kočí, Čapčuch and Medňanská) against the Czech Republic (applications nos. 37514/20 and others). In that judgment, the ECtHR found a serious violation of the right to confidentiality of communication between attorney and client. On 13 August 2026, the Union issued Opinion No. 2/2026 regarding another leak of information from a criminal file, responding to an article published on Seznam Zprávy on 12 August 2026 titled "Soud poslal duchovního do vazby. Policie ho viní ze znásilňování a týrání" (Court sent a spiritual leader into custody. Police accuse him of rape and torture). The article stated that police had initiated criminal prosecution on 6 August 2026. The Union continues to monitor and comment on criminal proceedings and the conduct of authorities in the Czech Republic.

• Union of Defense Attorneys from the Czech Republic founded

• JUDr. Tomáš Sokol becomes president

• Union welcomes ECtHR judgment on attorney-client confidentiality

• Union issues Opinion No. 2/2026 on leak from criminal file

Independent professional association of criminal defense attorneys, separate from the Czech Bar Association, focused on protecting fundamental rights in criminal proceedings.

• Expert opinions (stanoviska)

  Published opinions highlighting violations of fundamental rights and unlawful conduct in criminal proceedings.

1. 1Úvodní stránka | Unie obhájců České republikyuocr.cz
2. 2Unie obhájců České republiky - Wikipediacs.wikipedia.org
3. 3Union of Defense Attorneys from the Czech Republic - Wikidatawikidata.org