DTI consults before trade talks on world legal liberalisation

Moves to liberalise international legal services are gathering pace after the government launched a consultation on its contribution to the next round of world trade talks.

The Doha round of World Trade Organisation talks are scheduled to conclude by January 2005, and the first round of offers from countries to liberalise are expected to be made by 31 March 2003.

The European Commission represents the UK.

The government consultation is aimed at informing the commission's offer, and gives trade in legal services prominence.

Several of the issues the EU is considering - such as opening up fully to foreign lawyers - will not directly affect England and Wales as they are already in place.

The Department of Trade and Industry consultation asks four questions, most notably whether the definition of home, host and third country law is redundant in the increasingly global market for legal services, and if so, what sort of classification would be more appropriate.

It also asks to what extent mutual recognition of qualifications would be helpful to operate a global market.

LINKS: www.dti.gov.uk/worldtrade/