asked the Minister for Justice if, in relation to Irish lawyers in EEC countries, he will state whether they can provide legal advice, argue a case without restriction before European courts, have access to documents relating to cases, visit prisoners and be present at preparatory inquiries.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Irish Lawyer Rights.
2.
I am not in a position to furnish the information requested by the Deputy. The right of an Irish lawyer to provide the services of a kind mentioned by him in another member state of the European Economic Community would depend on the restrictions imposed by the laws of that state on the provision of those services by foreign lawyers, and their compatibility with EEC law.
As I said in reply to a similar question by the Deputy in July, 1973, a draft directive on this subject is at present before the EEC Council. The implications for that directive, and for other proposals before the Council, of the recent decision by the Court of Justice of the European Communities in the case of Reyners v. Belgium are at present under consideration by the EEC Council and Commission. A further case, the decision in which may be relevant to the draft directive on lawyers, is at present before the court.
Do I take it that there has been no progress since I asked a similar question 12 months ago?
Not quite. There has been progress in so far as there has been a judicial decision by the European Court which has clarified areas that were the subject of discussions in connection with the draft directive. While they clarified the discussions they also introduced new considerations which have to be taken into account in further discussions. As I indicated, the matter is now further complicated by the fact that there is another case on the same subject pending before the European Court and until that case is decided one cannot anticipate finality in the directive.
Could the Minister give any indication as to when the Committee of Ministers for Justice might be able to bring this matter to finality?
It is too soon to say that the Committee of Ministers for Justice could bring finality because the draft directive has not reached a sufficiently advanced stage to come before the Ministers for decision.
It is very slow.
It is, indeed.