The legal professions in the UK and France have lost the power to organise their own affairs, the vice-president of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) warned last week, while others are also under pressure.

Speaking at the biannual CCBE plenary in Frankfurt, Bernard Vatier said the Clementi review in the UK and a landmark ruling by the French constitutional court last month were threatening professional self-regulation.


In Landwell v Conseil National des Barreaux (CNB), the Conseil d'Etat ruled that the French national regulator had overstepped its authority by prohibiting multi-disciplinary partnerships (MDPs) between lawyers and accountants in France - although MDPs will still not be permitted under French law.


France: overstepping authority

Mr Vatier, former head of the Paris Bar, said: 'The court has ruled that the CNB does not have the power to make its own rules regarding regulation. In the UK and France, the legal profession has lost the power to organise itself. But the independence of the legal profession is guaranteed by self-regulation - and this is now being called into question.'

Dominique de la Garanderie, head of the CCBE's French delegation, said the profession's independence could also be undermined by a draft law setting out an ethical code of conduct for lawyers, rather than leaving this to the professional bodies. She said: 'A Ministry of Justice proposal would mean that ethical rules on secrecy and conflicts of interest - core values - would be set by the government. This is really a problem.'


Meanwhile, the legal professions across Europe are facing a breaking down of traditional monopolies, delegates revealed. In Norway, the national professional body has responded to government pressure by proposing to open court advocacy to non-members, with a similar measure under consideration in Denmark. Berit Reiss-Andersen from the Norwegian Bar Association said: 'So-called lawyers who have not passed the bar exam could be representing clients in court... Politicians are blaming lawyers for problems in the court system.'


Competition authorities in Ireland and Italy are conducting reviews of the legal profession, while a recent report by the Polish competition authority was critical of the rules of entry for the profession. In Germany, the Federal Ministry of justice has submitted a draft law that will allow bankers and insurers to give legal advice in relation to their main activities.