Lawyers take law-enforcement agencies to court

<BR>The Petersburg International Bar filed a claim in arbitration court against law-enforcement agencies to recover money owed them in consultation fees for legal services rendered in criminal cases. According to vice-president of the International Bar of St. Petersburg Igor Sidelnikov, the fact that this professional association is due compensation for its work is nothing new. However, "we were the first to initiate arbitration proceedings to resolve this problem," Sidelnikov said. For services rendered in 1996 alone, law-enforcement agencies owed the organization 500 million rubles. Moreover, last year the Vyborgsky district department of internal affairs (RUVD) alone called on the organization's attorneys to defend 394 individuals. And the International Bar is bringing its first claim against this law-enforcement entity. The legal association s members are of the opinion that general responsibility for paying the money owed to them is carried by Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast departments of internal affairs, as well as by the Russian Ministry of Finance, represented in Petersburg by the regional branch of the Federal Department of Treasury. As the association was able to adequately prove, city agencies asking attorneys from the International Bar of St. Petersburg to serve as public defenders in criminal proceedings should be held accountable for the payment of attorney fees. The International Bar believes an agreement to render financial compensation for their services exists between the Vyborgsky law-enforcement agency and their organization. When the Vyborgsky department of internal affairs became aware of the claim made by the International Bar it made good on its debts to the organization. Thus, the arbitration court was compelled to dismiss the legal association's claim.