The Council of Bars and Law Societies of the European Union (CCBE) is known as a great defender of the independence of the legal profession. It was therefore somewhat, shall we say, curious a few weeks back when it received a letter from Poland's Ministry of Justice, asking for information on the status of lawyers' self-regulation across the EU, and in particular on the issues surrounding dissolution of a bar or law society.


No doubt smelling a rat - the government's proposals to reform Poland's legal system had caused quite a stink, after all - they crafted a very lawyerly letter expressing regret that it would take some time to collect such information. In the meantime, asked secretary-general Jonathan Goldsmith, 'can you let me know the purpose of your request so that I can understand better the kind of information that you seek?'.



Sadly, we never got to find out what the ministry was up to, as November's general election saw a new government sweep in.