Proposal to open EU market for lawyers

Date: 05/12/1996

By Rory Watson

A REVISED scheme to be examined by governments for the first time next week should open the way for lawyers trained in one EU country to use their qualifications to practise permanently in another member state.

The changes to the European Commission's original proposals reflect growing pressure from MEPs and the majority of national law associations for an end to protectionist practices in the Union.

If, as expected, the draft legislation is approved early next year, it would mean that countries such as France and Spain with virtual legal monopolies would have to open up their professions.

“The key thing is that lawyers would be able to practise permanently elsewhere in the Union under their home-state title. This is a good deal better than when the proposals were originally put forward by the Commission and basically reflects what the market and clients want,” explained Patrick Oliver of the Law Societies of England and Wales.

A strong body of opinion - which includes the European Parliament, the Council of the Bars and Law Societies of the European Community (CCBE) and the Economic and Social Committee - has argued for the changes to be made to the Commission proposal originally tabled in early 1995.

Under the latest version, which will be examined by national experts in Brussels for the first time next Thursday (12 December), lawyers wishing to practise elsewhere in the EU would not need to take a host country aptitude test. Instead, they would have to produce proof of their professional qualifications.

The change is designed to make it easier for lawyers who have accumulated a certain amount of experience, but do not have time to prepare for the aptitude test, to obtain the professional title of the host country.

When she successfully persuaded the Parliament to back the changes to the proposal in June, French Christian Democrat MEP Nicole Fontaine argued that imposing national aptitude tests on lawyers to enable them to practise in other EU countries often amounted to an effective form of protectionism.

The new rules would allow lawyers to use their domestic qualifications and give advice on international and Union legislation as well as on the law of their home and host countries.

Supporters of the latest proposals maintain that they will bring clear practical advantages to many lawyers. Among those who would benefit would be practitioners in frontier areas who wish to service clients on both sides of the border. Similarly, the proposed legislation would make it easier for lawyers helping expatriate communities in other member states.

The EU's approach to the right of establishment of lawyers is one that may be emulated on the wider world stage. As the World Trade Organisation prepares for its ministerial summit in Singapore next week, a professional services working party is examining possible global rules for accountants with a view to extending their negotiations to the legal profession.

“There is a big push to try and apply the Union's system of a right of establishment based on a home title on a world-wide basis,” said one Brussels-based lawyer.