Persistent disagreement but renewed dialogue: Minister of Justice Nicole Belloubet announced Friday, February 28, an " operational mission " on the legal profession after eight weeks of unprecedented mobilization of " black dresses " against pension reform .
Read also: Montpellier accuses Nicole Belloubet of illegal taking of interest
At the end of a meeting with representatives of the 70,000 lawyers in France, the Minister announced to the press that this mission on the economic future of the profession, which aims to " respond concretely to the concerns " of lawyers, would be entrusted to the former Keeper of the Seals Dominique Perben. The former minister of Jacques Chirac, who joined a large Parisian law firm in 2017, will have to give his conclusions " by the end of April, " said the Minister of Justice.
Read also: Lawyers strike: Dominique Perben to the rescue of Nicole Belloubet
“ On pensions, we found that our disagreement persists. We expected a strong gesture from the minister, she offers us a "mission ", reacted to AFP Christiane Féral-Shuhl, president of the National Council of Bars (CNB). " We have taken note of the fact that it was ready for a 'significant reassessment' of legal aid (and therefore an increase in the remuneration of lawyers defending the most disadvantaged), but we would have preferred a financial commitment ", a- she added, welcoming " the resumption of discussions ".
A resumption of the dialogue essential after weeks of blockage, the government excluding to return to the entry of lawyers into the universal pension scheme, while the latter managed, by a historic mobilization by its duration and unity, to asphyxiate the courts .
For months, the CNB has said that the pension reform will be " detrimental to the economic model of the profession " and will lead to the " death " of small firms. And therefore access to justice for the most disadvantaged.
" I understand the lawyers' concerns, really. I also respect the right to strike. But I believe it is necessary (...) that the courts can resume normal activity , "said Nicole Belloubet, calling for" everyone's responsibility ".
Within the framework of the Perben " mission ", it undertook, in addition to " a significant revaluation " of legal aid, to examine the possibility of " giving an enforceable character to the act of lawyer ", it that is to say, to give it the quality of a court decision, and to examine " the possibility of changing the rate of VAT currently applied to lawyers ' fees ".
