Legislation

On July 2, 2013 the Parliament of the Republic of Lithuania adopted the Law No. XII-496 on Amending and Supplementing the Law on the Bar. The changes were initiated by the Ministry of Justice on the basis of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on services in the internal market. 

 

One of the principal changes made in the Law is the withdrawal of the prohibition for advocates to advertise their professional activities. The new wording of Article 42 of the Law states that advocates are allowed to advertise their professional activities in so far as this complies with the principles of their activity. By this amendment the Law on the Bar was harmonized with the requirements of the European Union law. Article 24 of the Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on services in the internal market states that Member States shall remove all total prohibitions on commercial communications by the regulated professions. The advocate’s profession also classifies as a regulated profession and thus the formal prohibition to advertise the advocate’s professional activities did not comply with the aforementioned Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council. 

 

The Law also provides for amendments to the requirements for high moral character of an advocate. As of 1 September one should not qualify as a person of high moral character if he or she has been convicted of a serious or grave crime and if the conviction for such crime has not yet expired or was not repealed earlier and less than four years have passed after the serving of the sentence or the dismissal from serving the sentence, or if he has been convicted of any other intentional crime and the conviction for such crime has not yet expired or repealed and less than three years have passed after the serving of the sentence, suspension of the serving of the sentence or the dismissal from the serving of the sentence. A person shall also not be considered as a one of high moral character if he or she has been fired from work, dismissed from its duties or lost the right to engage in certain activities due to its non-compliance with the statutory requirements of high moral character, or has been dismissed from the office of a judge, a prosecutor, an advocate, an advocate's assistant, a notary, an assessor, a notary's agent, a court bailiff, a bailiff's agent or a bailiff’s assistant for professional misconduct or misconduct in office, or dismissed from the office of a civil servant for serious breaches of duties, or found having committed a serious breach of duties, giving rise to a disciplinary sanction in the form of a dismissal from the office, or has been dismissed from work for serious breaches of duties and less than two years have passed from the date of such dismissal from work or office or loss of the right to engage in certain activities, or commitment of a serious breach of duties, giving rise to a disciplinary sanction in the form of a dismissal from the office. A person seeking to become an advocate shall also not be considered as a person of high moral character if he or she abuses alcohol, psychotropic, narcotic, toxic or other psychoactive substances.

 

The aforementioned amendments will come into force as of 1st September, 2013.

 

The full text of the amendments and supplements to the Law on the Bar can be found here.