BIC International Trade in Legal Services Committee

The IBA Global Regulation and Trade in Legal Services Report (2014) provides a comprehensive, comparative overview of how legal practice––both domestic and cross-border - is regulated across jurisdictions worldwide. The Report compiles detailed country by country information on lawyer regulation, market access for foreign lawyers and law firms, and relevant trade commitments under the WTO and other international agreements in over 90 countries, or over 160 jurisdictions.

The Global Report is designed as a practical reference tool for regulators, bar associations, governments and legal practitioners seeking to understand regulatory frameworks affecting the international delivery of legal services.

The IBA Cross Border Legal Services Regional Reports build upon the Global Report and provide updated information on the regulation of domestic and cross-border legal practice.

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The IBA Legal Regulators Directory is an online reference tool providing information on legal profession regulators and regulatory authorities around the world. The Directory—which can be searched by region or country—is designed to assist lawyers, bar associations, regulators and policymakers in identifying the bodies responsible for lawyer regulation in different jurisdictions, with a view to supporting greater transparency, cooperation and understanding in cross border legal practice and regulatory engagement.

This Guide provides practical guidance to bar associations and law societies to understand and engage with international trade agreements that affect legal services. Updated in 2023 by the IBA Bar Issues Commission’s International Trade in Legal Services Committee, the Guide explains the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and the growing impact of bilateral and regional free trade agreements on the regulation and practice of law. It is designed to help Bars identify relevant trade developments, understand their implications, and engage effectively with governments and trade negotiators on issues affecting the legal profession.

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This Handbook was prepared by the IBA Bar Issues Commission’s International Trade in Legal Services Committee to assist bar associations, law societies and other authorities responsible for lawyer regulation in understanding the regulatory and practical issues arising from cross border joint practice between local and foreign lawyers. It explores different models of association and joint practice, analyses how these arrangements are treated under domestic regulation and international trade frameworks, and provides practical guidance for bar associations and regulators considering how to address lawyer collaboration across jurisdictions while maintaining professional standards and public protection.

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Adopted by the IBA Council in 1998 in Vienna, this resolution affirmed the importance of an independent legal profession to, inter alia, provide clients with high quality advice, representation and legal services, facilitate the administration of and access to justice, and uphold the rule of law. It recognised that the public interest of a fully independent legal profession overrides all private commercial considerations, and resolved that all proposals to deregulate or liberalise legal services must respect and preserve the profession’s independence.

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Also adopted by the IBA Council in Vienna in 1998, the IBA endorsed a set of common regulatory principles that should guide jurisdictions in regulating the establishment of foreign lawyers. The resolution affirms the host jurisdiction’s authority to regulate foreign lawyers and emphasises that regulation should be fair, non discriminatory, transparent and justified in the public interest.

The resolution further identifies appropriate licensing models (the full licensing approach and the limited licensing approach) that may accord with the common regulatory principles provided they are adopted and administered in the host jurisdiction in a manner that recognises the education and experience of foreign lawyers and facilitates the effective delivery of legal services.

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Adopted by the IBA Council in 2001, this resolution outlines a set of standards and criteria that should be applied by WTO Member States to assess and recognise the professional qualifications of foreign lawyers in a manner consistent with the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The resolution also makes related recommendations regarding the content of mutual recognition agreements as contemplated by Article VII of the GATS.

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Adopted by the IBA Council in 2003, this resolution recommends a clear, consistent and neutral system of terminology for the purposes of trade negotiations in relation to trade in legal services – recognising the need for consistent and neutral terminology to facilitate negotiations and minimise ambiguity and uncertainty.

The resolution includes definitions of the terms ‘home-country law’, ‘host-country law’, ‘third-country law’, ‘international law’ and ‘international arbitration and mediation services’, and supports their use in international trade negotiations on cross-border legal practice.

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Adopted by the IBA Council in 2003, this Communication responds to a WTO request for views on whether the WTO Disciplines on Domestic Regulation in the Accountancy Sector (S/L/64) are suitable for application to the legal profession.

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