In 2020, the Council of Europe's European Committee on Legal Co-operation (CDCJ) adopted a feasibility study on a new European legal instrument which looked into how the protection of the profession of lawyer could be strengthened and, in doing so, examined existing international instruments, particularly 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.

Based on this study, the Committee of Ministers established in 2022 the Committee of Experts on the Protection of Lawyers (CJ-AV) under the responsibility of the CDCJ. The CJ-AV consisted of 15 representatives of member states, participants and observers, including INGOs promoting and protecting the rights and interests of lawyers. In the course of its work, the CJ-AV came to the conclusion that in order to strengthen effectively the protection of lawyers, a legally binding instrument was needed, an approach later validated by the CDCJ and the Committee of Ministers.

The CJ-AV held nine meetings from 2022 to 2024 during which it prepared a draft convention for the protection of the profession of lawyer and its explanatory report. At its 103^rd plenary meeting (19-21 November 2024), the CDCJ approved the draft convention as prepared by the CJ-AV. The CDCJ transmitted it to the Committee of Ministers for adoption, and adopted its explanatory report. The Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, known as the Luxembourg Convention, was adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 12 March 2025. It is the first international legally binding treaty dedicated to the protection of the profession of lawyer and is opened to states beyond member states of the Council of Europe.

List of documents in relation to the work of the CJ-AV (Non exhaustive list)