Samenvatting

The 2013/11/EU Directive on alternative dispute resolution for consumer disputes has forced the bar authorities in all European countries to think about the implementation of a dispute resolution mechanism to handle disputes between lawyers and their clients. The fear, if not done, would be that disputes between lawyers and clients would fall into the general consumer dispute resolution mechanisms, which many felt would not be adapted to the peculiarities of disputes between lawyers and clients, in particular concerning the proper respect of professional secrecy. Hence the need for the bars to develop their own system. The Czech Bar Association has been among the first to propose such mechanism to the Ministry of Industry and Trade. This article describes the broad outlines of the system.