The CCBE is moving towards replicating the Solicitors Regulation Authority's approach to legal education by creating a set of competency-based 'outcomes' for trainees across Europe that will ease the cross-border movement of lawyers.


The plenary meeting saw a draft paper from its training committee - chaired by Julian Lonbay, a senior law lecturer at Birmingham University - with its current thoughts on what knowledge, competence and skills a trainee must have before qualification.



In the Morgenbesser case in 2003, the European Court of Justice held that a person holding qualifications in law from one member state, but falling short of the full professional qualification, was entitled to have these taken into account in any determination of the qualification requirements for admission in another member state. The case concerned a Frenchwoman trying to continue her legal studies in Italy.



The push also comes during the Sorbonne-Bologna process of structural realignment of higher education across Europe and beyond, in which the 45 participating states have agreed to restructure higher education into undergraduate and postgraduate stages. For many, this means creating a three-year undergraduate law degree for the first time.



In a semi-parallel process, the EU is trying to develop a European higher education area and European qualification framework.



In his paper, Dr Lonbay said the outcomes approach 'has helped the CCBE to reach agreement on (at least some of) the outcomes of the training for all European lawyers, and will help make it easier for lawyers to be recognised through the European Economic Area and Switzerland via the various [mutual recognition] directive mechanisms, and also through the Morgenbesser route'.



Neil Rose