is a public organization, that an international non-governmental non-profit public association.

The International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates was established in 1992 as a result of the reorganization of the Union of USSR Advocates with the support of lawyers from nine former Union republics. In 2022, the Union celebrated its 30th anniversary.

The mission of the International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates is to solve the problem of establishing and developing external relations of interethnic legal organizations (associations), to form a significant organizational part of the world civil society, as well as to establish advocates at the international level as an independent body to be reckoned with.

The International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates implements its functions in the most demanded areas in the global lawyers' community:

• cooperation with international, national, and regional unions, associations, and other public non-profit organizations of lawyers;
• communication and mediation activities;
• development of resources in the legal field;
• study and communication of the world leading lawyers experience;
• international conferences, congresses, and seminars organization;
• participation in conferences, seminars, sessions, and meetings organized jointly by international lawyers' associations;
• promotion of the exchange of experience of lawyers from different countries;
• organization of the exchange of delegations between non-profit associations of lawyers from different countries and regions;
• carrying out independent public legal expertise of acts at the request of state bodies and public organizations, assisting in the drafting of legislation on advocacy and the legal profession;
• protection of the rights and freedoms, honor and dignity of its members. 

The range of activities of the International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates is constantly expanding.

At present, the International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates unites advocates of the CIS countries: the Republic of Armenia, the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Republic of Kyrgyzstan, Georgia, Ukraine, the Republic of Uzbekistan, the Republic of Moldova, as well as advocates and advocates' organizations of the regions of the Russian Federation.

Being an international non-governmental non-profit public organization registered in Russia, the International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates has branches, representative offices, and departments in the most post-Soviet republics, as well as in Switzerland and Germany.

The International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates is also a collective member of the International Bar Association.

Over the period of its existence, the Union has published a significant number of books authored by well-known lawyers, reference books, training manuals, and many collections of articles.

Since 1994 the International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates has been organizing biannual international scientific and practical conferences and seminars, thus providing an exceptional opportunity for advocates, members of the IUCA, to improve their professional knowledge, broaden their horizons, exchange experience with colleagues and establish useful business cooperation ties in the international legal community. In addition, the IUCA also actively participates in similar events at the invitation of its foreign colleagues.

The International Union (Commonwealth) of Advocates is also a collective member of the International Bar Association.

Among the resources of the IU(C)A: the »Lawyer« newspaper, the official website of the Union www.iuca.ru, the channel @IUCARF via Telegram.