The legal position of the European associations of lawyers
We consider the legal situation specificity and the main activities of European associations of lawyers. Communities of judges, prosecutors, lawyers in public service are quite rare and, as in Russian practice, are not considered as public (non-governmental) associations. Membership in the association of lawyers of European countries is mainly associated with such professional activities as advocacy and notary, which is a private legal component of legal activity. The main tasks of many associations of lawyers is to protect the interests of its members, training and retraining of association members. Membership in these associations does not give any financial privileges, in Western European professional legal associations at the regulatory level, tax benefits for members of these organizations and legal instruments for professional growth are fixed. We analyze the activities of such associations as the German lawyer association, the Bar Association of the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of China (Taiwan), the European Bar Association for democracy and human rights. On the basis of the comparative and legal characteristics of Russian and European associations of lawyers we made a conclusion about the distinctive and similar features in their legal position.