A foreign lawyers in the Czech Republic: how to obtain the status told by the UNBA representative

The Law of the Czech Republic on the Bar dated 13.03.96 No. 85/1996 provides for the procedure for obtaining the status of a foreign lawyers in this country. This status allows the advocate to practice international law and the law of the advocate's home country there.

Olena Maksymenko, the UNBA representative in the Czech Republic, told how to obtain this status during the webinar «Access to the legal profession abroad». The event was recently held by the UNBA Committee on International Relations.

О. Maksymenko said that the Czech Bar Association is responsible for managing the legal profession in the republic. It is a self-governing professional organization that, among other things, maintains a register of attorneys.

The law provides for the possibility of passing a recognition exam, the essence of which is to confirm the knowledge of an attorney who is granted the right to practice law in another country (except for member states of the European Union, the Agreement of the European Economic Area or the Swiss Confederation) in the field of general rules for the provision of legal services, the Law on the Bar, basic knowledge of the legal system of the Czech Republic.

The list of documents required to pass the exam is available on the EBA website:

1. a notarized copy of the certificate of the right to practice law with a translation from a court interpreter (the list of these specialists can be found here);
2. a copy of the passport with the signature of the person who is a candidate for the exam;
3. a copy of the certificate of no criminal record (for Ukrainians - from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine) not older than 3 months from the date of issue with a translation from a court interpreter;
4. a certificate of no criminal record from the Czech government, also not older than 3 months from the date of issue (available at Czech point branches);
5. an affidavit (statement) confirming compliance with the requirements of the Act, the signature of which must be notarized;
6. confirmation of payment of the exam fee of up to CZK 10,000 (about UAH 16.5 thousand);

You also need to decide on the language in which the exam will be taken: you can choose Czech, English, German, and French.

The scope of knowledge of the advocates is tested on the following topics:

a. Legal norms for the provision of legal services.

b. Fundamentals of Czech constitutional law.

с. The system of constitutional bodies.

d. Principles of electoral law.

e. Principles of the judicial system.

f. The nature of the sources of law.

g. The main provisions of Czech private law.

The exam takes the form of a written test, which lasts 2 hours. It is administered by three examiners, each of whom is a leading expert in Czech and international law.

In case of a positive result, at the written request of the candidate, the Association enters information into the register of lawyers authorized to practice international law and the law of the country that first granted the right to practice law in the Czech Republic. An oath is taken.

Access to the electronic office is also granted, fees are paid and an insurance contract is concluded (also CZK 10,000).

A foreign lawyer who has been entered in the Czech register of lawyers may provide legal services only in the field of law of the state that granted him/her the right to practice law, as well as in the field of international law.