Plan to end home rights 'stalemate' revealed

GERMANY and the UK have unveiled a new proposal on the rights of establishment in an

effort to end the "stalemate" among members of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of the European Union.

At a meeting in Brussels last Friday CCBE heads of delegations were set to hear the compromised plan which Law Society officer Hamish Adamson said was sent to members in recent weeks.

Although he would not discuss the contents of the proposal Adamson, the society's international director, said it had been tabled for discussion in an effort to end current argument over the ability to practice in foreign jurisdictions.

"This is a proposal which has been put forward to resolve the difficulties," said Adamson. "We're trying to resolve the stalemate, which really exists now, in discussions on the draft directive between the two broad viewpoints.

"Our view is that we need to have a permanent right to practice in the host State, coupled with adequate quality control for integrating on a voluntary basis.

"France and Spain don't want an attitude test at all. They say that after a period of practice in a host State, that should be enough.

"That is not good enough from our point of view and it's now a question of finding a mechanism for the quality control that would be acceptable to both sides of the argument."