Can barristers work as lawyers in Belgium?

Brussels Fan

I did my undergraduate degree in law in Ireland and would like to work as a Competition lawyer in Brussels. I am looking into becoming a barrister or a solicitor and just wanted to ask if a barrister can register with the Brussels bar?

As far as I can see from "Directive 98/5/EC to facilitate practice of the profession of lawyer on a permanent basis in a Member State other than that in which the qualification was obtained", this should not be a problem. Is this correct? I would really appreciate any experience you may have had related to this. Also, would a barrister have to devil/ complete the pupilage or would it be sufficient to have been called to the bar?

ResearchWill

Brussels Fan wrote: »

I did my undergraduate degree in law in Ireland and would like to work as a Competition lawyer in Brussels. I am looking into becoming a barrister or a solicitor and just wanted to ask if a barrister can register with the Brussels bar?

As far as I can see from "Directive 98/5/EC to facilitate practice of the profession of lawyer on a permanent basis in a Member State other than that in which the qualification was obtained", this should not be a problem. Is this correct? I would really appreciate any experience you may have had related to this. Also, would a barrister have to devil/ complete the pupilage or would it be sufficient to have been called to the bar?

Depends on Belgium's rules. Most countries require either PQE and or Quilifed Lawyers Transfer Test. As Belguim is a civil law jurisdiction there may be a requirement do pass certain courses.

Some info http://international.lawsociety.org.uk/ip/europe/570/practise

Requalification:
Solicitors of England and Wales (and other EU, EEA and Swiss qualified lawyers) seeking to requalify in Belgium can do so in two ways:
Through Art. 10 of the Establishment Directive 98/5/EC, under conditions of nationality and after three years of regular and effective practice of French law in France . Applicants need to contact their local bar of registration;
Through the Diplomas Directive 89/48/EEC, now incorporated into the Recognition of Professional Qualifications Directive 2005/36/EC, by sitting the relevant equivalence examination administered by the OBFG or the OVB.

KoukiKeith

As already pointed out, it's certainly possible. Out of interest, check out the Van Binsbergen judgment which essentially dealt with this very issue. www.cvce.eu/content/publication/1999/1/1/.../publishable_en.pdf

You should keep an eye on the EU jobs portals such as EurActiv, Eurobrussels & EMI. They often advertise traineeships in specific areas. I've seen Ashurst advertise a few times for positions in Competition.

Brussels Fan

Thank you very much to you both for this - I will look into this further!