Freedom of establishment of a monk who has obtained the professional qualification of a lawyer in a member state. Commentary to the judgment of the CJEU of 7 of May 2019,c-431/17

Abstract

The judgment under consideration is the answer to a question referred for a preliminary ruling by the Greek Council of State. In it, the referring court questions the interpretation of Article 3 of Directive 98/5 in relation to the application for registration with the Athens Bar of a monk who obtained his professional qualification in Cyprus. That European rule governs the practice of the profession of lawyer on a permanent basis in a Member State other than that in which the person concerned obtained his professional qualification. Article 3 of the Directive provides only that the lawyer must be registered with the competent authority of the host Member State and that he must be registered with the competent authority of the home Member State. In the present case, the lawyer fulfils the requirement laid down by the European legislature. He is registered with the Cyprus Bar and applies for registration with the Athens Bar. The Athens Bar refuses to register the lawyer on the grounds that he is a monk. He appealed against that refusal to the Greek Council of State, which referred the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union for a preliminary ruling. The European Court answers the question by requiring the lawyer to be registered with the Greek Bar and referring to the Council of State the assessment of the proportionality of the national measure prohibiting monks from being lawyers in Greece.