The PECO portal provides information about the work of the PECO Committee and any developments within the Bars and Law Societies in Central and Eastern Europe.

The PECO Committee is the CCBE Committee which aims to promote the Rule of Law and support the law reform process in Central and Eastern Europe.

PECO countries are CCBE full, associate and observer members from Central and Eastern Europe as well as Belarus, the Russian Federation and Azerbaijan.

If you have any questions on the PECO portal, please contact peco@ccbe.eu.

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July 2010 – The CCBE restates its concerns regarding the Serbian Law on fiscal cash registers

In order to contribute to the ongoing discussions on the introduction of fiscal cash registers for lawyers’ activities in Serbia, and at the request of the Serbian Bar Association, the CCBE prepared an expert opinion, sent to the Ministry of Justice of Serbia on July 21, 2010. In the opinion, the CCBE restated its concerns, previously expressed in a letter dated October 5, 2009, regarding specific risks that the present Serbian law presents to the independence of the legal profession. In order to assist the discussions, a comparative survey of CCBE member states’ national regulations on the topic was also provided with the CCBE’s opinion.

Moldova – Amendments to the Law on the Bar

On 28 May 2010 the Moldovan Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on the Bar. These amendments provide, inter alia, for the establishment of the position of Secretary General of the Moldovan Bar. The engagement of a Secretary General was one of the key CCBE recommendations of September 2008 aimed at enhancing the capacity of the Moldovan Bar. The CCBE will monitor closely the implementation of these amendments.

April 2010 – Joint CCBE-UIA position in favour of exempting the legal profession in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina from the obligation to record legal services by fiscal devices

In March 2010 the Bar of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) asked the secretariats of the CCBE and Union Internationale des Avocats (UIA) to comment on the Law on Fiscal Systems, which had entered into force earlier that year. The law creates an obligation for FBiH lawyers to record each service rendered via a fiscal device irrespective of the method of payment. Non-fulfilment of this obligation might lead to the imposition of fines and even the closing of a lawyer’s office. In a letter sent on 12 April 2010 to the Prime-Minister, Minister of Justice and Minister of Finance of the FBiH, the CCBE and the UIA stated that the law in question raises concerns regarding the independence of the legal profession, lawyers’ professional secrecy and the rights and interests of clients. It also recommended that lawyers be exempted from the obligation to use fiscal devices to record their services.

March/April 2010 – CCBE PECO Committee Comments on the Ukrainian Draft Law on the Bar

On 8 April 2010 the CCBE PECO Committee sent its Comments on the Ukrainian Draft Law on the Bar to the Ukrainian Parliament. The comments contain a comparative analysis of selected issues which were addressed by the drafts of MP Miroshnichenko and MP Portnov. This analysis was prepared in response to two requests by the Ukrainian Parliament (MP Mishchenko, in his capacity as Head of the Committee on Legal Policy, and MP Portnov) addressed to the CCBE.

February 2010 - The CCBE and UIA Presidents met the Serbian public authorities on the issue of fiscal cash registers for lawyers

The CCBE President José-María Davó-Fernández, the UIA President Corrado De Martini and representatives of the Serbian Bar Association participated on 1 February 2010 in Belgrade in meetings with representatives of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Trade and Services and members of the Justice Committee of the Serbian National Assembly in order to discuss the proposed introduction of fiscal cash registers for lawyers’ activities. A consensus was reached on the necessity of postponing the application of the fiscal cash registers system to lawyers in order to explore the possible solutions to the problems concerning the independence of the Bar and  access to justice.

February 2010 – CCBE sends its position to the FYROM authorities on the issue of fiscal cash registers for lawyers

On 8 February 2010, the CCBE sent its position on the application of the Law on registration of cash payments to lawyers to the FYROM authorities. The letter was sent in response to an earlier request for assistance sent by the FYROM Bar to the CCBE from 12 December 2009. The letter expresses CCBE’s concern with reference to the potential risks which the application of the fiscal cash registers to lawyers presents for legal professional secrecy and access to justice.

January 2010 - CCBE receives a request from Ukrainian MP Portnov for an expert appraisal of a draft law on the Bar

The CCBE received on 21 January 2010 an official request by MP Portnov to carry out an expert appraisal of the draft law on the Bar submitted by him and some other MPs of the Ukrainian Parliament, and to provide a comparative analysis of that draft and the draft submitted by MP Miroshnichenko and other MPs. At its meeting on 22 January 2010, the PECO Committee decided to respond positively to the request of MP Portnov.

November 2009 - Bosnia and Herzegovina is the new observer member of CCBE

The CCBE report on the application of the Bar Association of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bar Association of the Republika Srpska to become an observer member of the CCBE was unanimously approved by the CCBE delegations during the CCBE Plenary Session of 28 November 2009. The representative of the country for the first year of its CCBE membership will be Mr Jovan S. Cizmovic, President of the Bar Association of the Republika Srpska. Mrs Amila Kunosic-Ferizovic, President of the Bar Association of the Federation of the Bosnia and Herzegovina will represent the country at the CCBE the following year.

October 2009 – The final conference for the promotion of civil society dialogue took place in Ankara

A closing conference, as the final part of the project, which aims to promote civil society dialogue in bars through legal education, took place in Ankara on 24 October 2009. The project was granted by the European Commission to the Union of Turkish Bar Associations (UTBA) on June 2008 and was implemented with the collaboration of the CCBE and national Bar Associations/Law Societies from France, UK, Austria, Italy, Poland and Spain. The project included the implementation of several study visits, workshops and meetings throughout 18 months. The final conference was chaired by Rupert Wolff, former CCBE President and Vice-President of the Austrian Bar Association. Ms. Deren Doğan Yavuz, representative from the Prime Ministry Secretariat General for EU Affairs of the Republic of Turkey, and a representative from the UTBA were present in the conference. Several CCBE experts participated in the discussion of several topics included in the programme, regarding the professional education of lawyers. There were about 70 Turkish lawyers, who participated in the conference.

October 2009 - European Commission Enlargement Strategy and Progress Reports 2009

The European Commission adopted its Enlargement Strategy 2009-2010 and made it public together with the Progress Reports 2009 for the candidate countries: Croatia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey and potential candidate countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia and Kosovo (under UN Security Council Resolution 1244/99) on 14 October. These two important documents focus on the EU’s enlargement policy of the Western Balkan countries and Turkey, assessing the progress of the countries and the system of justice in general.

The CCBE, represented by the vice-chair of the PECO Committee, Maria Slazak, participated together with a number of representatives from national Bar Associations in a meeting with the European Commission in early June 2009 in order to discuss issues related to the profession in these countries.

October 2009 - CCBE participation in the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum

The Eastern Partnership was created by the European Commission as an initiative, which promotes democracy and good governance, supports economic and social development, and increases stability in Eastern Europe and South Caucasus countries: i.e. Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Republic of Moldova and Ukraine. The European Commission - within the framework of the Eastern Partnership - established the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum “to support the further development of Civil Society Organisations and facilitate their dialogue with public authorities” in these countries. The CCBE communicated its interest in participating in the Forum and was granted membership this October. CCBE considers this involvement very relevant, as for many years now it carries on several tasks in many of these countries. The first meeting, and the launch of the Eastern Partnership Civil Society Forum, will be held on 16-17 November 2009 in Brussels. CCBE will be represented in the event by Ms Maria Slazak, the vice chair of PECO Committee.

October 2009 - CCBE concerns on the Serbian Law on fiscal cash registers

The CCBE addressed a letter to the Serbian authorities regarding CCBE concerns on a new regulation, which will enter into force in Serbia by the end of February 2010. The regulation will complement the existing Law on Fiscal Cash registers and impose on lawyers the use of ‘cash registers ‘ as used in other commercial activities. The CCBE points out that such ‘cash registers’ do not exist anywhere in Europe for lawyers’ activities. The letter also expresses concerns with regard to the proposed suspension of lawyers’ activities in case of non-use of the cash register. These proposals would have serious consequences for the administration of justice. The independence of the Bar Association and the lawyer’s duty to confidentiality are at stake.