The Gazette 1974

Bar under Belgian law. Art. 55 states that the pi -0 " visions of the chapter of the Tr e a ty of Rome on righ 1 of establishment shall not apply, so far as any gi ven Member State is concerned, to "activities which in tha' State are connected, even occasionally, with the exercis e of official authority". T h e Belgian Court has asked an interpretation of the words in quotation. In part'' cular, it has asked whether they are to be interpreted in such a way that within a profession like that avocat only activities which are connected with th e exercise of official authority are excluded from th e application of this chapter of the Treaty, or as meaning that this profession itself is to be excluded on the grounds that its exercise involves activities which are connected with the exercise of official authority. Governments of Member States are entitled to sub' mit observations on references under Art. 177 and it lS understood that the U . K. Government, after consults tion with the profession, has submitted observations 0,1 this case, in which the oral hearing will take place <> n 7 Ma y. T h e European Court's ruling on this question ntf) help to produce a solution of the problems concerning the freedom of establishment for lawyers within th e EEC which will be acceptable in Member States. Note: It is understood that the Netherlands Parliament is currently considering a Bill on the reform the legal profession, including a clause removing the nationality requirement for admission to tb e Bar, but this may not proceed until the outcom e of the Reyners case is known. SAINT LUKE'S CANCER RESEARCH FUND Gifts or legacies to assist this Fund are most gratefully received by the Secretary, Liam J- P. Egan, F.H.A. (E), at "Oakland", Highfield Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6. Tel. 976491.

have caused a certain judicialisation of what is more correctly a political area—but it has helped sustain that Federal principle of partnership which is being currently eroded by Bonn. And the Germans, as yet unused to the idea that in a pluralistic democracy decisions are made by groups and not by an all-embracing State, should welcome the presence of such a strong reviewing power as the Federal Constitutional Court. T o the Ge rman mind words such as "uniformity" and "homogeneity" are closely linked with the concept of government. T h e "single will" idea is not dead in West Ge rmany even though Ge rmany is supposedly a Federal and not a unitary State. T h e National Government at Bonn tends to steamroller opposition from the Lands somewhat in line with the ingrained Ge rman idea that a State should not at the same time have two contra- dictory wills. Diversity in government and politics does not necessarily mean disunity and the Germans might do well to remember Harold Laski's comment on g o v e r nme n t: We must make consent to disagree the basis of our State—therein, we shall ensure its deepest harmony. If West Ge rmany sincerely wishes to retain a genuine Federation then Bonn must not become too big for its boots. Spirit of Constitution undermined It is somewhat ironical to note that though there is (as is usual) a provision in the Ge rman Constitution for altering parts of the Basic Law, those articles of it which describe basic rights and which declared Ge rmany to be a Federal and not a unitary State cannot be altered by any process whatever. T h e theory and the written Con- stitution may remain the same but the spirit of the Constitution has been seriously undermined in West Ge rma ny and that nation's Federal Constitutional Court stands out as the institution which can revive and revise a system of government which is today in practice far f r om Federal. It is indeed somewhat anomalous to note in the wider context of the European Economic Community that the hopes of European Federalists such as Mon et and Sc huma nn which Conrad Adenauer always encouraged have not either been fulfilled. It is a factthat in 1957 the Treaties of Rome on the creation of the European Economic Commun i ty and a European Atomic Auth- ority were successfully concluded, but in 1974 the Federal Union of Europe favoured at least in principle by all the Member States, has not at all advanced in spite of the phenomenal economic success of that Community. Reyners v. Belgium Th e ie lias been much interest in European legal circles about this case, on the freedom of professional establishment, which has recently been referred by the Belgian Gonseil d'Etat to the European Court under Art. 177. T h e case concerns a Netherlands national, but a Doctor of Belgian law, who cannot be called to the Belgian Bar because reciprocity in the country of origin is required as a condition for admission to the

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