The Gazette 1976

J U NE/J U LY 1976

GAZETTE

'EXCHANGE PACT' FOR BARRISTERS

is the first of several that the Bar is endeavouring to negotiate with Continental lawyers. Extension hopes While the agreement was concluded with the Paris Bar — by far the biggest of several autonomous bar- rister organisations in France — it is hoped that the arrangements will be extended soon to cover Courts throughout France. As it is the Judges and not the Bar Council who have the final say as to who can appear as an advocate in English courts, leaders of the English Judiciary were consulted before the agreement was signed. A spokesman for the Bar Council said they had no estimates of the numbers of French and English lawyers who would take advantage of the new arrange- ments. But it was thought that, at least initially, it would most help lawyers practicising in the com- mercial field. Batonnier and the members of his Council. He said he hoped that the Convention would mark a new and important epoch in the relations between the two organisations and between avocats and solicitors. He pointed out that the draft EEC Directive concerned itself only with occasional crossing of frontiers, whereas the Convention takes the first step towards 'establishment'. It was concerned, with a member of one of the two professions who was 'installé' (installed) in the country of another and it looked forward to closer working relationships. The Convention was thus a pioneering agreement, wholly in the spirit of the Treaty of Rome, and went beyond that between the Paris and Milan Bars and. indeed, beyond that of the Paris and English Bars. The President paid tribute to Me Pettiti and Me Brunois and to the solicitors with offices in Paris for their help. He pointed out that some of these solicitors were registered as conseils juridiques and were outside of the scope of the Con- vention; so far as The Society was concerned, there was no distinction between a solicitor so registered and one who was not, and he hoped that one day there would be none in the eyes of the French Bar also. Me Pettiti then explained some of the salient features of the Convention and emphasised the reciprocal control over the conduct and discipline of avocats and solicitors exercised by their respective professional organisations. He pointed out that our Western society was a fragile one and depended on the continued existence of the rule of law. To mark the signature of the Convention, a recep- tion for The Law Society representatives and the members of the Paris Bar and English solicitors in Paris was given by the President of the French Senate, Me Alain Poher, at the Palais du Luxembourg. In these magnificent surroundings, overlooking the Jardins du Luxembourg, the President of the Senate expressed his satisfaction and pleasure at the signing of the Convention and welcomed the guests. Later in the evening, Me Mollet Viéville gave a small dinner party for The Law Society guests at the Maison de la Chasse et de la Nature. Also present were a number of members of the Council of the Paris Bar, and Mr. Derek Wise, one of the English solicitors in Paris. 65

Leaders of the English and Paris Bars signed an historic agreement in Paris on 19th December, 1975, that will allow a Paris advocate to appear in an English Court and English barristers to represent clients in Paris Court cases. It is the first time the Bar has come to an arrange- ment for reciprocal rights of Court audience with Continental lawyers, who are trained in a fundamen- tally different system of law. A French lawyer will now be able to appear in any English Court, if he is accompanied by and under the direction and control of an English barrister. The same rules will apply to an English barrister appear- ing in a Paris court. The agreement, signed in the Palais de Justice by Sir Peter Rawlinson, Q.C., Chairman of the Bar, and Maitre Bernard Lasserre, Batonnier of the Paris Bar, PARIS BAR — CONVENTION SIGNED BY THE ENGLISH LAW SOCIETY On 12 April 1976 an historic ceremony took place in the Grande Salle of the Avocates' Library at the Palais de Justice in Paris. A bilateral Convention between the Law Society and the Paris Bar was signed in the presence of a large number of avocats and of English solicitors practising in Paris. The Bátonnier of the Ordre des Avocats at the Paris Court, Me Francis Mollet Viéville, signed on behalf of the Paris Bar, the President, Mr. E. N. Liggins, signed for The Law Society and the President of the Commission Consul- tative des Barreaux de la Commmunau té Européenne, Me Albert Brunois (a former Bátonnier of the Paris Bar), signed on behalf of the Commission Consultative, under whose auspices the Convention had been developed. In addition to the President of The Society there were also present Sir Charles Whishaw, Chair- man of the Council's International Relations Commit- tee, the Secretary-General, Mr. John Bowron, and one of the Deputy Secretaries-General, Mr. Leach, in his capacity as Secretary, International Relations. Before the actual signing ceremony, the Batonnier welcomed the English guests. Me Brunois then explained the scope of the Con- vention in the context of the need for lawyers to be available for consultation by the public. He stressed the work that the Commission Consultative were doing in considering the various professional rules applicable to lawyers in the nine Member States of the EEC, in the context of the Treaty of Rome, a task which in- volved many difficult problems and necessitated a study of all aspects of the legal profession — respect had to be paid to existing national rules enshrining different traditions, and language differences added to the problem. He stressed that the Convention was a great achievement and he paid tribute to Sir Charles Whishaw and Me Pettiti, a member of the Paris Bar, who had worked together for so long to produce the Convention. The President expressed his pleasure at being present and, on behalf of the Council and his col- leagues, his greetings and good wishes to the