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GAZETTE
J
U
NE/J
U
LY 1976
'EXCHANGE PACT' FOR BARRISTERS
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,
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.
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
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.
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