OF THE LAW SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND - The Journal Online

Godard, the Academic Director for
the programme, “and they have
generally been much appreciated by
both the participating firms and by
the Eurodevils”. During the
placements the European lawyers
are doing their best to assist their
hosts, while learning about the
practical workings of the Scottish
legal system. David Löfgren, the
Swedish participant, says: “It is
indeed a very interesting
experience. One thing I have
noticed is that the questions asked
by the clients are generally the same
in Sweden and Scotland, which
makes sense since they have the
same concerns. A big difference is,
though, that here I do not know any
of the answers without looking
them up”.
From May and up until July this year,
which is when the programme
ends, the Eurodevils will have the
chance to “shadow” advocates at
Parliament House.“This is a unique
opportunity, and we all look
forward to it”, says Carmen
Escudero from Spain. She goes on:
“Most of us are from countries
where there is not a split lawyers’
profession, but, by contrast, the
career as a judge is a separate one.
This will give us an excellent
opportunity to learn about the
Scottish professions up close.”
The Eurodevils are also enjoying
Scotland and Scottish culture in
their free time. “We are trying to
see and do as much as we can
while we are here”, reports the
French participant, Lionel Vuidard,
“and so far we have kept ourselves
quite busy.” Excursions have been
made by the Eurolawyers to
historical towns such as Stirling and
St Andrews during weekends, and
a considerable number of nights
have been spent discovering the
pubs of Edinburgh. “All of us are
very impressed by how friendly
people are here, and how easy it is
to have fun when you go out”, says
Raminta Karlonaite of Lithuania.
Mari-Liis Tõrs, the Estonian
participant, agrees: “Yes, and the
countryside here is beautiful. The
experience from the professional
part of the scheme is certainly only
one of the many good things that
we will take with us when we go
back home in July”.
Practice in Europe
Recognition of professional
qualifications under discussion
In an attempt to facilitate the free movement of professionals, the European
Commission has come forward with a proposal on the recognition of
professional qualifications (www.europa.eu.int/comm/internal_
market/en/qualifications/index.htm). According to the proposal, lawyers’
practice rights will continue to be the subject of specific Directives – namely
the Lawyers’ Establishment Directive and the Lawyers’ Services Directive -
as these Directives concern the right to practise rather than professional
qualifications. However, the proposal will cover the recognition of lawyers’
professional qualifications. As the proposal currently stands, lawyers wishing
to have their qualifications recognised in another Member State would have
a choice between an aptitude test and an “adaptation” in the host Member
State. The text has now been sent to the European Parliament and the
Council of Ministers for their views.
Employment Law
Equal Rights for Temporary Workers
On 20 March 2002, the
Commission published a draft
Directive setting out general
principles for the equal treatment
of temporary workers in an
attempt to bring them into the
mainstream of the labour market.
The Directive, to be adopted under
the co-decision procedure (which
puts the Parliament and the Council
on a level footing in the legislative
process), offers temporary agency
workers the right to the same pay
and conditions as regular
employees in cases where their
work is equivalent and the worker
profiles are similar.The proposal will
allow temporary workers to take
advantage of maternity and sick
leave, pension schemes and training.
The provisions oblige employment
agencies to make sure that “user
undertakings” - those companies
which use temps - comply with the
rules. However, the provisions will
not apply where a worker is a
permanent employee of the agency,
and if the employment relationship
itself affords adequate protection to
the worker. Neither will it apply in
cases where the temporary worker
is replacing a better qualified or
more experienced employee. The
UK lacks specific legislation on the
rights of temporary workers and
UK employers’ associations have
expressed opposition to the
proposal.The Parliament will give its
Opinion to the Council shortly,
either approving or amending the
proposal.
Electronic Commerce
European businesses set for
change of identity through ‘.eu’
EU businesses and organisations will soon have the opportunity of assuming
a new European identity through the planned .eu domain name. In October
2001 the Commission put forward an amended proposal for a Regulation
which would put in place the framework for the .eu suffix. The proposal was
adopted by EU ministers at the Telecommunications Council at the end of
March 2002.Although this means that the domain name has received official
approval, there are still a number of formalities and procedures to be
completed by the Commission before it can become operational. The
Commission will publish a call for expressions of interest for the
organisation that will operate the Registry for the .eu domain name in the
coming months.The registration of .eu domain names is expected to start
in 12-18 months.
Journal
Europe
information:
If you would like further
information or if you would
like to subscribe to any of the
services provided by the
Brussels Office (Brussels
Agenda, EU Documentation
or Enquiry Service) or
Guidance Notes which are
all free of charge,
please contact us at:
The Law Societies’ Joint Brussels
Office,
142-144 Avenue de Tervuren,
B-1150 Brussels, Belgium,
or DX 1065 BDE Belgium
Tel: 00-32-2-743 85 85
Fax: 00-32-2-743 85 86
and by e-mail:
brussels@lawsociety.org.uk
Information is also available
from the International
Relations section of the
Society.
Tel: 0131 476 8132
Fax: 0131 225 4243
e:
international@lawscot.org.uk
51 May 2002 Volume 47 No 5