The Gazette 1974

LEGAL EUROPE REYNERS v BELGIUM—Summary of Judgment Summary of Judgment delivered by the Court of the many, of the Netherlands, of Luxembourg, of Belgium and of Ireland, as by the applicant.

European Communities in Luxembourg on 21st June 1974 (translated by the Editor) Facts

The applicant considers that the exception provide" for by Article 55 to the principle of freedom of estab' lishment does not relate fully to the profession of law yer, but only to certain auxiliary activities. Furthermore, he pointed out, inter alia, that if the applicant were au English or an Irish barrister, he could if he had ob- tained a Doctorate in Law in a Belgian University, an" fulfilled the conditions as to integrity and as to dom 1 " cile, be admitted to the Belgian Bar, as there is no la^ as to reciprocity in those countries and furthermore that different conventions between Bar Organisations 01 different countries would admit interchange of plead- ings and even occasional professional practice in the jurisdiction of the other State. The Belgian Government as the defendant on the case considers that Question No. 1 must be considered as a whole in that in (1) Article 55 would exclude froi" the right of establishment only those activities whic' 1 are connected with the exercise of public authority, but those activities should be specifically reserved to the nationals of the State concerned. It is stated that tlu* alone would be the only logical solution—i.e. to inter- pret Article 55 in the most restrictive way. In each Member State, many professions would participate 1,1 activities which are connected with the exercise of pub' lie authority as a result of some of their activities, the right of establishment would be unduly restricted if th e legal profession as a whole were to be subject to fr ee ' dom of establishment. On the juridical plan, one should be in a positi 0 ' 1 to make distinctions. The notion of a profession whip' 1 would be connected with the exercise of an officii authority could not be the subject of a judgment & uniform Community Law, because it differs from oI1 J State to another. Article 55 can only have a broa general meaning; it could not be construed as applyu 1 ? specifically to a specified professional category. The Federal German Government states that such an activity could in one State be construed as connecteu with the exercise of an official authority, and in another State could be understood to pertain to freedom 0 establishment. It was the intention of the signatories 0 the Rome Treaty to exclude from the principle of tb e freedom of establishment the profession of lawy e1. Furthermore the rules regulating the profession of law yer in the nine Member States would necessarily bc different under German Law, several activities of law yers, particularly in relation to criminal law, are closeb connected with the exercise of official activity, which Article 55 could not exclude. The Government of the Netherlands considers tha 1 Article 55 of the Treaty does not exclude from the pi" 111 ' ciple of freedom of establishment the profession of law yer in all its aspect, but only those professional leg 3 functions which are connected with the exercise 0 public authority such as a lawyer acting as a t empo r al Judge. These functions would imply generally a certaU 1 164

The applicant, Jean Reyners, was born in Brussels in May 1931 of Dutch parents who had resided for a long time in Belgium. Reyners was educated in Belgium, and obtained the degree of Doctor of Law (equivalent to LL.M.) of a Belgian University and has continued to live there, but has at all times kept his Dutch nation- ality. When he tried to be admitted as a barrister in Belgium, he was confronted with a Belgian law of October 1919 which declared that no one can be admitted to the Belgian Bar unless he is of Belgian nationality. Article 428 of the Belgian Judicial Code, which came i nto force on 1 November 1968, has affirmed the law of 1919 but has sanctioned the King to grant exemptions in specified circumstances. The Royal Belgian Decree of 24 August 1970 set out the following conditions, under which foreign barristers are admitted to the Belgian Bar, as follows : (a) The applicant must have been resident in Belgium for six years before applying for admission. (b) The applicant must furthermore prove that he has not been rejected by a foreign Bar on account of dishonourable motives. (c) Or in the alternative, produces a certificate of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of his country which details the laws conferring reciprocity. (d) At the time of his application for admission, be not resident or domiciled or practising in the Bar of a foreign country. The applicant Reyners does not fulfil the conditions of reciprocity stated in paragraph (c) and has asked the Belgian Conseil d'Etat by a request of November 1970 to declare that paragraph (c) violates Articles 52, 53, 55 and 57 of the Treaty of Rome, and should conse- quently be annulled. In an interim judgment of Dec. 1973, the Belgian Conseil d'Etat, in accordance with Article 173, has requested the Court of the European Communities to adjudicate upon the following ques- tions : (1) What is to be meant by the expression "activities which in that State are connected, even occasionally, with the exercise of official authority" in the text of Article 55 (1) of the Treaty which provides for excep- tions to freedom of establishment. (2) Is Article 52 of the Treaty which establishes prin- ciples of freedom of establishment, since the end of the period of transition, a law which comes into effect immediately, despite the fact that no directives have been issued in accordance with Article 54 (2) or Article 57 (1)? Written observations to first question Written observations have been submitted by the Commission and by the Governments of Federal Ger-