Committee of Experts on the Protection of Lawyers (CJ-AV)

The profession of lawyer plays a central role in the administration of justice, the defense of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. Nowadays, lawyers, both individually and institutionally, are increasingly the target of attacks of all kinds which put in difficulty, even in danger, the independent and secure exercise of their profession.

In 2020, the Council of Europe's European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) has looked into possible actions to ensure an adequate level of protection to lawyers when exercising their profession. It considered the feasibility of a new European legal instrument, taking into account possible alternatives through which the protection for lawyers could be enhanced, considering the existing international instruments, notably the Committee of Ministers Recommendation R(2000)21 on the freedom of exercise of the profession of lawyer and the European Convention on Human Rights, as well as the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights.

On the basis of this study, the Committee of Ministers established as of January 2022 a Committee of experts on the protection of lawyers (CJ-AV). The CJ-AV consists of 15 representatives of member States, as well as participants and observers as set out in the adopted Terms of reference. The Committee is tasked with the elaboration of a legal instrument aimed at strengthening the protection of the profession of lawyer and the right to practice the profession without prejudice or restraint, under the authority of the Committee of Ministers and of the European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ).

The CJ-AV meets 3 times a year, in closed session. Access to information about specific meetings and documents of the CJ-AV is available below, or depending on their classification, can be consulted in line with Resolution Res(2001)6 on access to Council of Europe documents.

Reference documents

Terms of Reference 2024

Terms of Reference 2022-2023

CJ-AV members

Resolution CM/Res(2021)3 on intergovernmental committees and subordinate bodies, their terms of reference and working methods

Agenda (access to restricted documents restricted to authorised persons)

Meeting report

List of participants

News

Back CJ-AV - 6th meeting on the further preparation of a draft convention on the protection of lawyers

The Committee of Experts on the Protection of Lawyers (CJ-AV) held its 6th meeting on the drafting of a convention aiming to improve the protection of lawyers and the right to practice their profession without prejudice or restraint on 17-19 October in Strasbourg. During this meeting, the CJ-AV continued working on the text of the draft convention and examined its draft explanatory report. The CJ-AV agreed to hold its 7th meeting on 30 January – 1 February 2024 in Strasbourg. This meeting will focus primarily on Article 9 concerning protection measures, the provisions dealing with the monitoring mechanism, the final clauses, the revised explanatory report and the feedback received from the CDCJ.

Strasbourg 17-19 October 2023