Keywords

Summary



Keywords

1. Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Lawyers — Practice of the profession on a permanent basis in a Member State other than that in which the qualification was acquired — Directive 98/5 — Scope — Trainee lawyer — Not included — (Directive 98/5 of the European Parliament and the Council)

2. Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Workers — Recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years ' duration — Scope of Directive 89/48 — Concept of regulated profession — Trainee lawyer — Not included — (Council Directive 89/48)

3. Freedom of movement for persons — Freedom of establishment — Lawyers — Access to the profession — Enrolment of trainee lawyers in the professional register — Requirement of a law degree issued, confirmed or recognised as equivalent by the authorities of the Member State concerned — Not permissible — (Arts 39 EC and 43 EC)

Summary

1. Directive 98/5 to facilitate practice of the profession of lawyer on a permanent basis in a Member State other than that in which the qualification was obtained concerns only lawyers fully qualified as such in their Member State of origin, and therefore does not apply to persons who have not yet acquired the professional qualification necessary to practise the profession of lawyer but are carrying out a period of practice necessary for admission to the bar.

see para. 45

2. A profession must be regarded as regulated, within the meaning of Directive 89/48, on a general system for the recognition of higher-education diplomas awarded on completion of professional education and training of at least three years ' duration, where access to, or pursuit of, the professional activity in question is governed by laws, regulations or administrative provisions that create a system under which that professional activity is expressly reserved for those who fulfil certain conditions and access to it is prohibited to those who do not fulfil them.

However, even if it is reserved for persons who fulfil certain conditions and prohibited to those who do not, the period of practice necessary for admission to the bar cannot be regarded as a " regulated profession" within the meaning of Directive 89/48, since it is limited in time and is designed to constitute the practical part of the training necessary for access to the profession of lawyer, and, unless an aptitude test is passed before that period expires, pursuit of the activities carried out during that period is not authorised.

see paras 49-52

3. Community law precludes the authorities of a Member State from refusing to enrol the holder of a legal diploma obtained in another Member State in the register of persons undertaking the necessary period of practice for admission to the bar solely on the ground that it is not a legal diploma issued or confirmed by a university of the first State.

Recognition, for academic and civil purposes, of the equivalence of a diploma obtained in one Member State may be relevant, and even decisive, for enrolment with the bar of another Member State. However, the taking into account of the diploma of the person concerned must be carried out in the context of the assessment of the whole of the training, academic and professional, which that person is able to demonstrate. In that respect, it is the duty of the competent authority to examine whether, and to what extent, the knowledge certified by the diploma granted in another Member State and the qualifications or professional experience obtained there, together with the experience obtained in the Member State in which the candidate seeks enrolment, must be regarded as satisfying, even partially, the conditions required for access to the activity concerned.

see paras 64, 66-67, 72, operative part