In a ruling that seems at first glance to be counter-intuitive, the Court of Justice of the European Communities has held that proficiency in a host country's language cannot be made a condition of membership in the host country's bar. According to a report from the London Times dated October 6, 2006,
"the claimant, Mr Graham J. Wilson, an English barrister, challenged the refusal of the defendant Luxembourg Bar Council to . . . entitle him to practise in Luxembourg, on the ground that he had failed to undergo, as required by Luxembourg law, an examination of his proficiency in the Luxembourg statutory, administrative and court languages (French, German and Letzebuergesh)." Wilson v Ordre des avocats du barreau de Luxembourg Case C-506/04.
Letzebuergesh? What was going on here? Isn't it reasonable to require lawyers to be proficient in the local languages? Isn't it urgently necessary?
From what my informants tell me, the Luxembourg statute was actually a manifestation, within the context of bar membership, of "the Polish plumber" problem. If people in the EU can ply their trades anywhere in the EU, what becomes of local control of the trades and professions?
Attempting to prevent the free transfer of lawyers into Luxembourg, which is the center of commercial law, that country had set a requirement for bar membership that lawyers must pass an exam in Letzebuergesh. This local dialect, however, although officially one of the country's languages, is not a language of commerce or the courts. If it were not taught in the schools, indeed, no one except its few thousand native speakers would understand it.
The Court of Justice of the European Communities saw through this ruse. For a complete report, visit "Language Condition Excessive".
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