Question to the Ministry of Justice:

To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps her Department is taking to ensure the timely ratification and implementation of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, signed by the UK in May 2025; and what assessment she has made of the legislative or regulatory measures required to ensure full domestic compliance with its provisions.

I am delighted that the UK was an early signatory to the Council of Europe Convention for the Protection of the Profession of Lawyer, which was signed in Luxembourg on 14 May 2025. Throughout the Convention’s development, the Ministry of Justice worked closely with the profession and the UK representative appointed to the drafting panel, to ensure the UK’s interests were effectively represented on key issues. The Department is conducting the necessary due diligence ahead of ratification including an assessment of whether any legislative or regulatory measures are required.

Once this is complete, the Convention and its accompanying Explanatory Memorandum will be laid before both Houses of Parliament for scrutiny, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. The Convention enters into force on the expiry of a period of 3 months after the date on which eight signatories, including at least six member States of the Council of Europe, have expressed their consent to be bound by it.