Lawyers from other EU states escape language test

LAWYERS from other EU member states cannot be forced to pass a language test to be registered to practice, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

The European Court of Justice overturned a Luxembourg law requiring that lawyers must pass a language test to practice in the Grand Duchy.

The case was brought by Graham Wilson, a British solicitor working in Luxembourg where there are three official languages — French, German and Letzeburgesch, which is a mixture of both.

Mr Wilson, practicing in Luxembourg since 1994, refused to take a language exam three years ago.

His refusal meant the bar would not register him on the register of lawyers practicing under their homecountry professional title.

He took his case to the European Court of Justice which is based in Luxembourg and yesterday they ruled the Duchy’s laws were contrary to EU law.

Europe’s highest court ruled the Luxembourg law violates a EU law protecting the free practice of law in the 25-nation bloc. Lawyers must only show they are registered in their own country to be registered with another country’s bar.

But this does not mean that lawyers are free to represent clients with whom they cannot communicate or where they do not understand the language.

It pointed to the rules of professional conduct designed to ensure the protection of consumers and the proper administration of justice. “Among those obligations is the duty of a lawyer not to handle cases which require linguistic knowledge that he does not possess,” the court said.