Cross-border practice rights

The issue of cross-border practice rights is very much on the foreground. The matter is being discussed at various fora, including by government.

At the previous SADC Lawyers Association conference, a decision was taken to establish a task team to consider this prominent matter. Each SADCLA member is to come up with a position on how they see themselves in relation to cross-border practice rights and a consolidated paper will then be submitted to the relevant authorities.

The Law Society of South Africa’s (LSSA) understanding is that there are also some discussions at SADC level about Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs), which also cover legal services. However, the negotiation of the MRAs will have to be between the various professional bodies.

The LSSA has developed a draft position paper and would like to solicit your views on it.

The position paper can be viewed here.

Please send your comments to kris@lssa.org.za by 28 February 2020.