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As threats and attacks against lawyers continue to rise, a new international treaty offers a much-needed safeguard. Sarah Kavanagh reports on the landmark convention defending the independence of lawyers and rule of law
The Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer has now been formally launched. Its adoption is a landmark achievement and will help strengthen the ability of lawyers to carry out their professional duties free from attack, threats or interference. So far 17 countries have signed the convention.
The Chair of the Bar Council’s International Committee, Hugh Mercer KC, said: ‘The Bar Council has been involved in supporting the development of the convention for more than three years and we very much welcome the UK government’s support as a signatory.’
The cab rank rule means barristers do not and cannot choose their clients. Chair of the Bar Barbara Mills KC said: ‘Our independence is one of our core duties. We should never be associated with our clients’ opinions or behaviour simply because we represent them. Not only is the cab rank rule the profession’s cornerstone, it also underpins access to justice. Everyone has a right to legal representation. It is for judges and juries to pass judgment, not advocates – our duty is to advise and represent.’
The Bar Council worked on the draft convention to ensure the cab rank rule was recognised despite some Bars having a right to select their clients. Hugh explains there were two possible draft wordings put forward with support from Bar colleagues in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. These were discussed by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), supported by UK Ministry of Justice officials and then proposed to the Council of Europe negotiating group.
The solution adopted by the Council of Europe’s justice ministers was the second sentence added to the convention (article 6.4) and the cab rank rule is explicitly included in the convention’s explanatory report (para 36). Hugh added: ‘I think that these late additions are a mark of our standing as a Bar.’
The CCBE represents the Bars and Law Societies of 46 countries and played a pivotal role in making the convention a reality. The idea for the convention emerged in 2017 from within the CCBE in response to growing threats. The CCBE European Convention Working Group, chaired by Laurent Pettiti, was a driving force behind the project.
Piers Gardner has worked closely with Laurent from the beginning of the project. He is also the Bar Council’s nominated expert, UK delegate and chair of the CCBE Permanent Delegation to the European Court of Human Rights. The delegation act as a sounding board for the Council of Europe ministers and court. Piers explains the idea of proposing a new convention for lawyers was born out of the need to protect access to the profession, protect the exercise of the profession and protect the operation of lawyers’ professional organisations.
Piers highlights that in 2017 there was some recognition that the soft law already existing (the UN’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R(2000)21 on the freedom of exercise of the profession of lawyer) were not working. At the same time the profession faced multiple challenges including lawyers being associated with their client or causes, lawyers in some jurisdictions being persecuted or disbarred, and the title of lawyer was increasingly used as a pejorative term. Introducing some hard-edge legal principles would provide a firmer footing to be able to push back. There was also a desire for any new convention to be open to Council of Europe non-member states.
The campaign involved reaching out to Parliamentarians with experience of working as lawyers. Piers and colleagues also met with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and organised a public meeting.
The initiative quickly developed momentum and within a year the committee adopted the recommendation for a new convention. Then came the formal recommendation to set up an experts’ group to start the draft and Council of Europe ministers were lobbied. Piers describes the campaign as a ‘massive step forward and completely new chapter’.
Council of Europe ministers took a close interest, and some claimed the protections required were already in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), but the ECHR is different because it focuses on victims. The convention explicitly protects the role of lawyers and their associations (including how people are admitted to the profession and allowed to practise).
The convention came about for lawyers as a group and not for other professionals, such as doctors, because lawyers have a unique role in maintaining the rule of law and they are also deliberately targeted because of their work.
The convention creates an expert committee to monitor states’ compliance. Local lawyers and Bar associations will be able to comment on these country reports, which will be published. In urgent situations, undefined by the convention, the committee of experts can visit a country, and states are required to assist such investigations. One further option is petitioning the Parliamentary assembly. This is not expressly included in the convention but remains available and may be viable given the assembly’s support for the convention from the outset.
In 2024, the draft convention went to the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights and they proposed it should be adopted and passed to the Committee of Ministers. The ministerial committee adopted the convention in March, and it was opened for signatures in May 2025.
In January 2025 the Bar Council expressed public concern about the rising reports from members who have faced intimidation, attacks and threats. This has included threats made by politicians, media vilification, cyber-attacks and online harassment, physical surveillance and reprisals for engaging or cooperating with the United Nations.
Barbara said: ‘We want to see a renewed emphasis placed on promoting the important role of independent legal practitioners and adherence to the rule of law. The Bar Council condemns all acts of intimidation and the targeting of lawyers who are simply carrying out their work and upholding our professional ethics.’
Hugh added: ‘There must be no impunity for governments or non-state actors who continue to harass and intimidate lawyers carrying out their professional duties whether at home or abroad.’
The Bar Council of England and Wales will be encouraging colleagues around the world to lobby governments to apply to sign the treaty and the convention is also likely to help the UK in external bilateral arrangements and negotiations with other countries.
Steven Thiru, the incoming President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, has committed to investigate the option for states outside Europe to sign the convention. At least eight countries (including six member states of the Council of Europe) must ratify the convention for it to enter into force.
Safety will be the theme for European Lawyers’ Day later this year on Saturday 25 October and at the opening of the legal year in London in September and October.
The new convention can only help bolster collaborative efforts to promote the global safety of lawyers and adherence to the rule of law. It will also hopefully show lawyers they are entitled to carry out their work, acting in the public interest, with the support of protective new rules.
Sarah Kavanagh is Head of Media and Communications at the Bar Council. Sarah joined the Bar Council in October 2021 and worked previously for the National Union of Journalists in the UK and Ireland.
The Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer has now been formally launched. Its adoption is a landmark achievement and will help strengthen the ability of lawyers to carry out their professional duties free from attack, threats or interference. So far 17 countries have signed the convention.
The Chair of the Bar Council’s International Committee, Hugh Mercer KC, said: ‘The Bar Council has been involved in supporting the development of the convention for more than three years and we very much welcome the UK government’s support as a signatory.’
The cab rank rule means barristers do not and cannot choose their clients. Chair of the Bar Barbara Mills KC said: ‘Our independence is one of our core duties. We should never be associated with our clients’ opinions or behaviour simply because we represent them. Not only is the cab rank rule the profession’s cornerstone, it also underpins access to justice. Everyone has a right to legal representation. It is for judges and juries to pass judgment, not advocates – our duty is to advise and represent.’
The Bar Council worked on the draft convention to ensure the cab rank rule was recognised despite some Bars having a right to select their clients. Hugh explains there were two possible draft wordings put forward with support from Bar colleagues in Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic. These were discussed by the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE), supported by UK Ministry of Justice officials and then proposed to the Council of Europe negotiating group.
The solution adopted by the Council of Europe’s justice ministers was the second sentence added to the convention (article 6.4) and the cab rank rule is explicitly included in the convention’s explanatory report (para 36). Hugh added: ‘I think that these late additions are a mark of our standing as a Bar.’
The CCBE represents the Bars and Law Societies of 46 countries and played a pivotal role in making the convention a reality. The idea for the convention emerged in 2017 from within the CCBE in response to growing threats. The CCBE European Convention Working Group, chaired by Laurent Pettiti, was a driving force behind the project.
Piers Gardner has worked closely with Laurent from the beginning of the project. He is also the Bar Council’s nominated expert, UK delegate and chair of the CCBE Permanent Delegation to the European Court of Human Rights. The delegation act as a sounding board for the Council of Europe ministers and court. Piers explains the idea of proposing a new convention for lawyers was born out of the need to protect access to the profession, protect the exercise of the profession and protect the operation of lawyers’ professional organisations.
Piers highlights that in 2017 there was some recognition that the soft law already existing (the UN’s Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers and the Council of Europe Committee of Ministers Recommendation No. R(2000)21 on the freedom of exercise of the profession of lawyer) were not working. At the same time the profession faced multiple challenges including lawyers being associated with their client or causes, lawyers in some jurisdictions being persecuted or disbarred, and the title of lawyer was increasingly used as a pejorative term. Introducing some hard-edge legal principles would provide a firmer footing to be able to push back. There was also a desire for any new convention to be open to Council of Europe non-member states.
The campaign involved reaching out to Parliamentarians with experience of working as lawyers. Piers and colleagues also met with the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and organised a public meeting.
The initiative quickly developed momentum and within a year the committee adopted the recommendation for a new convention. Then came the formal recommendation to set up an experts’ group to start the draft and Council of Europe ministers were lobbied. Piers describes the campaign as a ‘massive step forward and completely new chapter’.
Council of Europe ministers took a close interest, and some claimed the protections required were already in the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), but the ECHR is different because it focuses on victims. The convention explicitly protects the role of lawyers and their associations (including how people are admitted to the profession and allowed to practise).
The convention came about for lawyers as a group and not for other professionals, such as doctors, because lawyers have a unique role in maintaining the rule of law and they are also deliberately targeted because of their work.
The convention creates an expert committee to monitor states’ compliance. Local lawyers and Bar associations will be able to comment on these country reports, which will be published. In urgent situations, undefined by the convention, the committee of experts can visit a country, and states are required to assist such investigations. One further option is petitioning the Parliamentary assembly. This is not expressly included in the convention but remains available and may be viable given the assembly’s support for the convention from the outset.
In 2024, the draft convention went to the Council of Europe Steering Committee for Human Rights and they proposed it should be adopted and passed to the Committee of Ministers. The ministerial committee adopted the convention in March, and it was opened for signatures in May 2025.
In January 2025 the Bar Council expressed public concern about the rising reports from members who have faced intimidation, attacks and threats. This has included threats made by politicians, media vilification, cyber-attacks and online harassment, physical surveillance and reprisals for engaging or cooperating with the United Nations.
Barbara said: ‘We want to see a renewed emphasis placed on promoting the important role of independent legal practitioners and adherence to the rule of law. The Bar Council condemns all acts of intimidation and the targeting of lawyers who are simply carrying out their work and upholding our professional ethics.’
Hugh added: ‘There must be no impunity for governments or non-state actors who continue to harass and intimidate lawyers carrying out their professional duties whether at home or abroad.’
The Bar Council of England and Wales will be encouraging colleagues around the world to lobby governments to apply to sign the treaty and the convention is also likely to help the UK in external bilateral arrangements and negotiations with other countries.
Steven Thiru, the incoming President of the Commonwealth Lawyers Association, has committed to investigate the option for states outside Europe to sign the convention. At least eight countries (including six member states of the Council of Europe) must ratify the convention for it to enter into force.
Safety will be the theme for European Lawyers’ Day later this year on Saturday 25 October and at the opening of the legal year in London in September and October.
The new convention can only help bolster collaborative efforts to promote the global safety of lawyers and adherence to the rule of law. It will also hopefully show lawyers they are entitled to carry out their work, acting in the public interest, with the support of protective new rules.
As threats and attacks against lawyers continue to rise, a new international treaty offers a much-needed safeguard. Sarah Kavanagh reports on the landmark convention defending the independence of lawyers and rule of law
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