EARLIER THIS week the leaders of the International Bar Association (IBA), the American Bar Association (ABA) and the Council of Bars and Law Societies in Europe (CCBE) took the trouble to come to Ireland to warn that, if passed, the Legal Services Regulation Bill would make the regulation of lawyers in Ireland comparable to that of countries like China, Iran or Gambia and could bring us into conflict with fundamental tenets of the UN, the EU and the Council of Europe regarding the organisation of the legal profession.
The president of the ABA suggested it could adversely impact on foreign investment.
The focus of their concern was the powers of the proposed legal services regulatory authority and its subservience to Government. A majority of its members, and of a separate disciplinary body, will be appointed by the Government on the recommendation of the Minister for Justice. The authority will have, according to the CCBE, “unacceptable control … over all aspects of professional practice, including training, entry and discipline”.
The Government’s nominees to this body will have no security of tenure and can be removed at any time if this appears to the Government to be “necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the Authority”, the CCBE pointed out. It considers that the proposed Bill, if passed without amendment, would make Ireland unique in Europe in the level of control exercised by Government over the legal profession.
The IBA devotes much of its time to supporting the independence of the legal profession in developing countries. Its executive director was dismayed to find a sophisticated, developed and democratic state like Ireland proposing to enact a law that resembled those in many countries with only a fragile attachment to democracy, and was concerned about the message this would convey internationally. “Lawyers must function without external interference. This is indispensible to the administration of justice and the rule of law,” he said.
Of more immediate concern to the Government, perhaps, is the warning from the president of the ABA that such a law could have a chilling effect on international corporations prepared to invest in Ireland and needing assurance they would have access to legal representation free from any hint of Government supervision.
The judgment of the leaders of the international legal professions on this Bill raises issues for Ireland’s reputation and should be a wake-up call for the Government. These contentious proposals should be reconsidered.