Advocate Bar Association in Poland – all of the Polish advocates and advocate bar trainees based within the association’s territorial region as specified by the Supreme Bar Council, mainly in view of the  court administration territorial division. The legislation regulating the autonomous association of advocates is the Law on the Advocate Profession.

Bodies within the Advocate Bar Association

Under article 39 of the Law on the Advocate Profession (APL), the bodies in the Advocate Bar Association are:

• The association assembly, made up of advocates and delegates for the other advocates. The assembly’s powers are (article 40 of the APL): appointing delegates to the National Conference of Advocates, appointing the Dean, appointing the President of the Disciplinary Tribunal and its members, appointing the chair of the Audit Committee and its members, appointing members and deputy members of the Regional Bar Council, adopting the association’s budget and setting the membership fee, approving the annual report (on substantive and financial issues) and confirming due performance by the council of its duties, and adopting other resolutions. The ordinary assembly meets once a year,

• Regional Bar of Advocates (RBA) – made up of the Dean, 5–15 members, and 2–4 deputy members (article 42 of the APL). The Council appoints the Presidium from among the Council members (article 43 of the APL). The Presidium  is responsible for preparations for Council meetings. The Presidium is made up of the Dean, 1–2 Vice Deans, the Secretary, and at times a Deputy Secretary, the Treasurer, and the Disciplinary Counsel. The Council’s powers include all matters not reserved for other advocate profession bodies or association bodies, suspension of an advocate who is in arrears with the membership fee for six months, and seeking instigation of proceedings against an entity that breaches laws on legal services (persons serving as legal counsel may provide legal services under the Law on Business Undertakings). The Council publishes an updated list of advocates and advocate bar trainees in the Public Newsletter (article 49 of the APL),

• Disciplinary Tribunal,

• Disciplinary Counsel (article 39(3a) of the APL),

• Audit Committee

Administrative division of Bar Associations 

There are 24 Regional Bar Associations in Poland: Białystok, Bielsko-Biała, Bydgoszcz, Częstochowa, Gdańsk, Katowice, Kielce, Koszalin, Kraków, Lublin,Łódż, Olsztyn, Opole, Płock, Poznań, Radom, Rzeszów, Siedlce, Szczecin, Toruń, Wałbrzych, Warsaw, Wrocław and Zielona Góra.