The EU is preparing to accede to the Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer

The European Union has been officially invited to become a party to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Professions of Lawyer as an international organization. The European Commission is already preparing draft decisions regarding the signing of the international treaty and subsequent accession to it.

This was announced by chairman of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) Working Group on the European Convention, chairman of the Delegation of the French Bar (DBF) in Brussels and a member of the Paris Bar Association Laurent Pettiti during the roundtable discussion “The Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Legal Profession: A Future Part of Ukrainian Legislation,” which was recently held in Kyiv.

Before accession, the EU must resolve several technical issues. The first concerns the definition of the term «lawyer». The Convention does not contain a separate exception for in-house lawyers working in companies. Therefore, the EU must determine whether the document will apply to in-house advocates who are not authorized to represent clients in court. «It is necessary to draw a line between advocates who work independently and are authorized to appear before courts, and advocates who work in the internal legal departments of organizations and do not have such authorization», - explained L. Pettiti.

The second issue relates to Article 2 of the Convention. It extends certain professional guarantees to persons whom an international court, tribunal, or body of an international organization has recognized as competent to act in the relevant proceedings. According to the CCBE representative, the EU must distinguish between representatives authorized by clients and employees of international judicial institutions. It is also necessary to determine whether a reservation is needed regarding the application of the professional rights provided for in the Convention to such persons.

The third section concerns the financing of monitoring. Article 18 of the Convention provides for the participation of the Parties in financing the activities of the Group of Experts on the Protection of the Legal Profession (GRAVO) and the Committee of the Parties. L. Pettiti explained that the European Commission must regulate the application of this provision to the EU, since its member states already contribute to the financing of the Council of Europe.

«These are technical issues, and they are by no means fundamental obstacles to the EU’s accession to the Convention», - he emphasized.

For the Convention to enter into force, eight ratifications are required, including six by member states of the Council of Europe. However, no country has yet completed this procedure. «We no longer need just signatures — that battle has already been won. Now the main thing is the ratification race, in which no country has yet crossed the finish line. And Ukraine may be the first to do so», - noted L. Pettiti.

The possibility of Ukraine completing ratification faster than EU member states was previously discussed by the Vice President of the UNBA, BCU Valentin Gvozdiy and Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the Council of Europe Mykola Tochitsky.