Today the European Commission published its Communication “Building trust in EU-wide justice – A new dimension to European judicial training”. The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) has been extensively consulted by the Commission in the preparation of this communication, and it will now carefully examine its details, namely the priority areas, tools and methods for support in training. However, it welcomes the recognition in the Communication of the role of lawyers as essential actors in the administration of justice. 

Soon after the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and on the right to communicate upon arrest (COM(2011) 326), some criticism has been expressed at governmental level, to which the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) would like to react. 

Today, the European Commission has adopted a proposal for a directive on the right of access to a lawyer in criminal proceedings and on the right to communicate upon arrest. The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) welcomes this proposal, which creates for the first time an EU enforceable right to have early and continuous access to a lawyer throughout criminal proceedings. 

Former President of the Brussels Bar Association and former President of the Federation of European Bars, Georges-Albert Dal assumed the presidency of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) on 1st January 2011, becoming its 33rd President. 

In a conference on “Legal Aid: a Fundamental Right for Citizens – Effective Access to Justice in the European Union”, organised jointly with the Academy of European Law (ERA) and opened by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Viviane Reding, Commissioner responsible for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) presented to the EU institutions its recommendations on legal aid.