Suspension of the Russian Section

Resolution of the Executive Committee
9 March 2022

“Suspension of the Russian Section”

FICPI, the International Federation of Intellectual Property Attorneys, broadly representative of the free profession throughout the world, assembled at an emergency meeting of its Executive Committee held online on 9 March 2022, passed the following Resolution:

REAFFIRMING that FICPI is a global community of independent Intellectual Property (IP) Attorneys, built on mutual trust and respect between members, which exists to strengthen the bonds of professional confraternity between IP attorneys in different countries and regions and to safeguard the standing and dignity of the profession of IP Attorneys in the international field;

NOTING that while members of FICPI’s Executive Committee comprise national IP Associations and dedicated national and regional Sections of FICPI, the members of such Associations and Sections are themselves members of the Federation;

EMPHASISING that FICPI aims to provide a welcoming, safe, supportive and collegiate environment for all its members to connect and share information with each other on issues of relevance to the free profession and their individual practices;

DECLARING that FICPI utterly deplores all forms of aggression between countries and urges all nations to work tirelessly to resolve disputes in a peaceful manner, respecting the rights and needs of all humans without regard to their nationality or domicile;

OBSERVING WITH ABHORRENCE the current events in Ukraine following the invasion by Russia and the continuing loss of life and suffering by civilians AND BELIEVING that such action cannot and should not be tolerated by any non-governmental organisation with international membership;

FEELING, in view of its international membership, including a national Section in Russia and individual members in Ukraine, THAT FICPI cannot ignore the current situation or be seen by its members around the world to ignore it, AND WISHING to send a very strong signal of its rejection of the current aggression by Russia against Ukraine and to distance itself publicly from any association whatsoever with Russia as a state, while remaining supportive of all its members as individuals and their firms, regardless of their domicile;

EXPRESSING its deep concern and sympathy for all citizens in Ukraine, including FICPI members, their families, friends and colleagues;

In the hope that peace will be restored in Ukraine as quickly as possible, FICPI HEREBY RESOLVES that:

1. Membership of the Russian Section in FICPI is suspended with immediate effect until further resolution of the Executive Committee;
2. Members of the Russian Section of FICPI will be regarded as Individual members of the Federation, until membership of the Russian Section in FICPI is restored or further resolution of the Executive Committee; and
3. No Russian FICPI members will be invited to represent FICPI at any external meetings until further resolution of the Executive Committee.

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