The Justice Ministry has drafted legislation to allow lawyers from non-EU or non-EEA countries to provide legal services in Lithuania.
“The need to enable third-country lawyers to practise in Lithuania has been identified by the Ukrainian legal community that has moved to Lithuania due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and expressed a strong desire both to maintain their professional competencies and to help other Ukrainian citizens who have fled the war,” the ministry told BNS.
The proposed bill would allow lawyers to start practising once registered on the list of third-country lawyers entitled to provide services in the country.
They will only be able to provide services relating to the national or international public law of the country where they were granted their professional title. In legal proceedings, they will be required to work in conjunction with a local lawyer.
Third-country lawyers must also comply with the Lithuanian Law on the Bar and the Code of Ethics of Lithuanian Lawyers. Currently, the Law on the Bar does not apply to third-country lawyers, except where international treaties provide otherwise.
The proposed draft amendments to the Law on the Bar Association are currently being discussed with the Lithuanian Bar Association and other institutions. Once an agreement on the key provisions is reached, the bill will be tabled to the government, which will then submit it to the parliament for consideration.
The ministry proposes to bar lawyers from countries committing armed aggression or genocide against other states, or crimes against humanity or war crimes from being registered as third-country lawyers.
This would also apply to lawyers from states with which Lithuania has severed or restricted diplomatic relations and countries that do not prevent money laundering or terrorist financing, or are subject to Lithuanian or international sanctions, embargoes or other measures.
(EURACTIV’s partner LRT)
Source: euractiv.com
