Society and Law: Dec. 3 – The Lawyer’s Day

Among the variety of different professional holidays in Russia the Lawyer’s Day has a very special place. It was declared in 2008 by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation. This holiday is celebrated by the professionals who protect the rights and freedoms of citizens of Russia, provide and support the legitimacy and public order, develop the legal competence of Russian people.

Why exactly on Dec. 3? Firstly the Decree developers came up with the idea to celebrate it on Feb. 28 – in commemoration of the Grand Prince of Kiev Yaroslav I the Wise, the creator of the oldest legal code of Kievan Rus “Russkaya Pravda”, many other dates were also announced. But it was decided to choose the date of Dec. 3 (Nov. 20), and not by accident. Several legal articles and laws, which gave birth to the judicial reform were adopted on this day in 1864. Moreover this day was considered the Day of a Lawyer until 1917.

The laconic word “lawyer” incorporates a wide range of professions. These are the lawyers and legal advisers, judges and workers of the Civil registry, notaries, justices, attorneys and many others. Nowadays the legal education comes in handy not just in the legal field, that’s why the Lawyer’s Day is also celebrated by people who use their knowledge of the Law in many other spheres of work.