An international treaty protecting lawyers from attacks on their practice has passed its latest milestone, taking one step closer to coming into force.

The 46-member Council of Europe (CoE) adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer last week. It covers topics such as the right to practice, professional rights, freedom of expression, professional discipline and protective measures for lawyers and professional associations.

Legal professionals must now wait for European countries to sign the convention on 13 May. At least eight countries, including six members states of the CoE, must ratify the convention before it can enter into force, the Netherlands Bar Association explained.

The campaign to adopt the convention has been spearheaded by the Central Council of European Bars (CCBE), which represents various EU and other bar associations, including the UK’s law societies and follows years of negotiation.

The CCBE began work on a binding international convention in 2016. Lawyers from common law and civil law traditions worked on the draft, which was referred to the CoE in 2022.

Simone Cuomo, the secretary general of the CCBE, said: “What started as a bold vision at the CCBE Plenary Session in Gdańsk in May 2015 – with the symbolic presence of Lech Wałęsa – has now become a legally binding international instrument that safeguards the legal profession’s core values.”

He added: “At a time when justice faces growing challenges, this milestone is more than just a legal victory – it is a win for democracy, the rule of law and every lawyer fighting for justice worldwide.”

Imbi Jurgen, the president of the Estonian Bar, called it “a most significant instrument for the protection of the rule of law”.

Philip Moser KC, joint head of Monckton Chambers, noted on LinkedIn that the CoE had adopted amendments from the Bar Council, while Samuel Townend KC, the immediate past chair of the Bar Council, explained that adopting the convention was “an important step” for all those who support the independence, safety and security of practitioners when simply carrying out their jobs.

Townend added that the CCBE and others “were willing to adopt amendments we proposed last year to protect the ‘cab rank’ rule and the unusual split nature of the legal profession into solicitors and barristers in this country”.

Writing in the Gazette as the draft convention was discussed at last month’s Day of the Endangered Lawyer, Tony Fisher, chair of the Law Society’s international human rights committee, said the convention would introduce “a raft of protections against the wide range of threats faced by lawyers from state and non-state parties, even in democratic Europe”.