Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE)

The continued integration of the European Union and European Economic Area and the increasing frequency of the cross-border activities of lawyers within the European Economic Area have made necessary in the public interest the statement of common rules which apply to all lawyers from the European Economic Area whatever Bar or Law Society they belong to in relation to their cross-border practise. A particular purpose of the statement of those rules is to mitigate the difficulties which result from the application of "double deontology", notably as set out in Articles 4 and 7.2 of Directive 77/249/EEC and Articles 6 and 7 of Directive 98/5/EC. The organisations representing the legal profession through the CCBE propose that the rules codified in the following articles: be recognised at the present time as the expression of a consensus of all the Bars and Law Societies of the European Union and European Economic Area; be adopted as enforceable rules as soon as possible in accordance with national or EEA procedures in relation to the crossborder activities of the lawyer in the European Union and European Economic Area; be taken into account in all revisions of national rules of deontology or professional practice with a view to their progressive harmonisation. They further express the wish that the national rules of deontology or professional practice be interpreted and applied whenever possible in a way consistent with the rules in this Code. After the rules in this Code have been adopted as enforceable rules in relation to a lawyer's cross-border activities the lawyer will remain bound to observe the rules of the Bar or Law Society to which he or she belongs to the extent that they are consistent with the rules in this Code.