Act LXXVIII of 2017
on the professional activities of attorneys-at-law
PART ONE
FUNDAMENTAL PROVISIONS
CHAPTER I
GENERAL RULES
1. General principles
1. § (1) The profession of attorneys-at-law shall mean carrying out activities directed at assisting clients, through the application of the special knowledge of attorneys-at-law, by using the instruments of law and in the manner provided by law, and independently from public authority organs, to assert their rights and rightful interests or fulfil their obligations, and, wherever possible, to settle legal disputes between parties with opposing interests, also covering collaboration in the administration of justice.
(2) The professional activities of an attorney-at-law are founded on the trust between the client and the person practising the profession of attorney-at-law, which everyone must respect.
(3) The person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law must pursue his professional activities as an attorney-at-law conscientiously, to the best of his knowledge, and in compliance with the law.
(4) The person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall improve his professional knowledge through self-directed learning and mandatory further training.
(5) Practising the profession of an attorney-at-law may not be directed at evading the law, or at any purpose contrary to the law, or at participating in any such legal transaction.
(6) Everybody is entitled to a free choice of attorney-at-law.
2. Professional activities of an attorney-at-law
2. § (1) The professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall be:
a) legal representation;
b) defence in criminal proceedings;
c) legal counselling;
d) document drafting;
e) countersigning documents;
f) conversion of any edited document and the attachments thereto into the form of electronic documents, in relation to the professional activities of an attorney-at-law laid down in points a) to e) above;
g) handling deposits in relation to the professional activities of an attorney-at-law as laid down in points a) to f) above.
(2) The following shall not qualify as a professional activity of an attorney-at-law:
a) legal counselling and document drafting carried out in an employment relationship with an entity other than a natural person; activities carried out in a government service, civil service, public service, public servant, law enforcement, regular or contractual military service, judicial employment or public prosecution service employment relationship; activities carried out in an ecclesiastical service relationship; and activities carried out in a voluntary legal relationship under the Act on voluntary activities in the public interest,
aa) for the employer or, in the case of an ecclesiastical service relationship, for the ecclesiastical legal person or, in the case of a voluntary legal relationship, for the host organisation (for the purpose of this section hereinafter jointly "employer"),
ab) for the employer's affiliated entity defined in the Act on corporate income tax and dividend tax (hereinafter "affiliated company"), or
ac) for organs having a controlling or operating relationship with the employer; or
b) any legal representation, legal counselling or document drafting carried out by any other person listed in section 4 (1) by virtue of authorisation granted by an Act.
(3) Statutory representation or the organisational representation of a legal person shall not qualify as a professional activity of an attorney-at-law within the meaning of paragraph (1) a) hereof.
3. § (1) The following ancillary activities may also be pursued under the scope of practising the profession of an attorney-at-law:
a) patent agency,
b) tax consultancy,
c) social security consultancy,
d) insurance consultancy,
e) labour consultancy,
f) representation in procedures other than court, authority or other public authority procedures,
g) financial and other business consultancy,
h) activities of a responsible accredited public procurement specialist advisor,
i) fiduciary asset management,
j) activities of a real estate agency,
k) activities of a common condominium representative,
l) conversion of a paper-based document drafted by a person other than one practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law into electronic format, and
m) mediating activities carried out in mediation procedures and criminal cases.
(2) The person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall perform the activities specified in paragraph (1) in such a capacity but in compliance with the law applicable to the activity concerned.
(3) The ancillary activities defined in paragraph (1) i) to k) and the professional activities of an attorney-at-law as set out in section 2 may not be performed simultaneously for the same client unless it is a law office that is employed and the agency is performed by different members of the law office, and the client expressly consents to this in writing.
3. Persons entitled to practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law
4. § (1) The following persons shall be entitled to practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law on a regular basis and for consideration:
a) attorneys-at-law,
b) European Community lawyers,
c) foreign legal advisors,
d) registered in-house legal counsels,
e) salaried attorneys-at-law,
f) salaried European Community lawyers,
g) junior attorneys-at-law, and
h) junior in-house legal counsels registered with the bar association (hereinafter "junior in-house legal counsel").
(2) The professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall be performed within the scope of this Act.
(3) Unless otherwise provided by this Act, the general rules governing the persons practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall apply to law offices.
(4) A natural person may carry out the professional activities of an attorney-at-law in only one of the forms registered by the bar association as set out in paragraph (1) at a time.
5. § (1) The professional activities of an attorney-at-law may be carried out by any person entitled to do so under the present Act in the whole territory of Hungary.
(2) The provisions of this Act and all regulations of the bar association shall apply as well to persons entitled to practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law if they are performing those activities outside the territory of Hungary.
(3) An attorney-at-law may freely join a foreign law office as a partner.
PART TWO
GENERAL RULES ON THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF AN ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
CHAPTER II
GENERAL CONDITIONS OF PRACTISING THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF AN ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
4. Independence of attorneys-at-law
6. § In their activities in this capacity, attorneys-at-law, European Community lawyers and foreign legal advisors shall be unrestricted and independent and may not undertake any obligation that endangers their professional independence.
5. The attorney-at-law's oath
7. § (1) Within two months of being admitted to or registered with the bar association, attorneys, registered in-house legal counsels and salaried attorneys shall take an oath and junior attorneys-at-law and junior in-house legal counsels shall take a vow before the president of the regional bar association (hereinafter "regional bar association").
(2) The commencement of practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall be subject to taking the attorney-at-law's oath or vow.
(3) The text of the oath shall be the following: "I, .....(name of the person who takes the oath) do solemnly swear that I will be faithful to Hungary and its Fundamental Law, and will comply with its laws. In the course of practising my profession of attorney-at-law, I will fulfil my professional duties conscientiously and to the best of my knowledge, in the interest of my clients/employer, and in the course of doing so shall safeguard all secrets of which I gain knowledge. (According to the belief of the oath-taker) So help me God.
(4) The text of the vow shall be laid down by the regulations of the bar association.
(5) The regional bar association shall prepare a document concerning the oath-taking or vow-taking, which shall include the text of the oath or vow (hereinafter jointly the "oath"), the date on which it was taken and the date on which practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law commences. The regional bar association shall keep a copy of the document recording the oath.
(6) If there is an obstruction to taking the oath, the time limit specified in paragraph (1) shall be calculated from when the obstacle ceases to exist.
6. Use of name
8. § (1) When practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, a natural person shall use his family name or birth name and given name, as well as his doctoral title with reference to his capacity as laid down in section 4 hereof, or, for European Community lawyers and salaried European Community lawyers, with reference to that capacity as specified in the ministerial decree on the professional titles of European Community lawyers.
(2) The professional activities of an attorney-at-law may be carried out under a name entered into the register of attorneys-at-law which cannot be confused with any other person's name previously entered into the register of attorneys-at-law.
(3) Paragraph (2) shall not apply to registered in-house legal counsels and junior in-house legal counsels.
(4) In the case of collaboration between an attorney-at-law or law office registered in Hungary and a foreign legal counsel or foreign law office, the name of the foreign legal counsel or foreign law office and reference to the collaboration may appear, along with the name of an attorney-at-law registered in Hungary, in the name of a law office registered in Hungary.
(5) The detailed rules on the use of names applicable to the persons practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall be set forth in the regulations of the bar association.
7. Confidentiality
9. § (1) All facts, information and data of which the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law gained knowledge in the course of carrying out his professional activities, shall qualify as attorney-client privileged information.
(2) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall keep all attorney-client privileged information confidential. This confidentiality obligation shall also apply to any document or other medium containing attorney-client privileged information.
(3) The person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall refuse to give testimony or report on attorney-client privileged information in any administrative authority or court procedures unless he was exempted from his obligation of confidentiality by the person entitled to grant such attorney-client privileged information with the proviso that, with the exception set forth in section 12 (4) herein, no exemption may be validly granted for making a testimony and reporting on any attorney-client privileged information obtained as a defence counsel.
(4) The confidentiality obligation of the person performing the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall not be subject to the legal relationship of practising as an attorney-at-law, and it shall persist after discontinuing such practice or upon termination of that legal relationship, for an indefinite period.
10. § (1) Unless otherwise provided in this Act, the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall not have any confidentiality obligation towards the client in the course of acting on behalf of whom he obtained knowledge of the attorney-client privileged information concerned. If the subject-matter of the attorney-client privileged information has been received from another person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law may not reveal such information to his own client affected by the case if it has been expressly forbidden by the person providing that information. No confidentiality obligation shall be imposed on registered in-house legal counsels and junior in-house legal counsels towards their employer, with whom they have an employment relationship within the scope of which they obtained knowledge of the attorney-client privileged information, or towards the persons designated by that employer and the client either.
(2) The confidentiality obligation of the law office shall also apply to the members of the law office; however, members shall not have a confidentiality obligation towards each other. If an Act restricts the activities that can be performed jointly for the same client or for clients with opposing interests but allows the law offices employed to have different members of the law office carry out those duties, the members concerned shall have a confidentiality obligation towards each other, and they shall ensure that the same employee or assignee of the law office will participate in fulfilling tasks relating to only one of the relevant cases.
(3) A person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall not have a confidentiality obligation towards his employee.
(4) A person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall not have a confidentiality obligation towards his substitute attorney-at-law and the following persons, up to the extent required for providing their services:
a) the person in charge of storing, archiving or safekeeping the medium containing the attorney-client privileged information, or the person processing the information included therein, and any other contributor employed by the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law as data processor;
b) the person providing accounting services for the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law;
c) the persons involved in fulfilling an attorney's agency contract and all other persons employed to fulfil the agency, the involvement or employment of which has been approved by the client.
11. § (1) Pursuant to section 10 (3) and (4), the confidentiality obligation of an attorney-at-law shall also apply to all persons entitled to gain knowledge of the attorney-client privileged information in question.
(2) The bodies and officers of the bar association shall keep confidential all attorney-client privileged information learnt of in the course of fulfilling their duties and exercising their powers set out herein.
(3) Courts and authorities may handle and use all attorney-client privileged information learnt of in the course of acting in the case within the framework determined by the Act regulating their procedure.
12. § (1) The client and his legal successor shall have the right of disposal over the attorney-client privileged information.
(2) In the disciplinary and regulatory cases falling under the scope of this Act, the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall be entitled to disclose, to the extent required for conducting the procedure, any attorney-client privileged information to the bodies of the bar association and to the court acting in the case.
(3) The person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall be entitled to disclose, to the extent required to assert his right of defence, any attorney-client privileged information in the criminal proceedings instituted against him.
(4) The person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall be entitled to disclose, to the extent required for investigating and proving a criminal offence committed by a person other than his client, against him or committed against his client, attorney-client privileged information; in the event of a criminal offence committed against his client, such information may be disclosed with his client's consent.
(5) At the request and initiative of the person entitled to dispose of the attorney-client privileged information, a person subject to an obligation of confidentiality may disclose attorney-client privileged information in court proceedings or an administrative or other public authority procedure against him, to the extent required for the defence.
8. Powers of the authority regarding documents containing attorney-client privileged information; protection of documents drawn up for defence purposes
13. § (1) Those subject to a confidentiality obligation of attorneys-at-law shall not disclose any document or information containing attorney-client privileged information in the course of an official inspection, review or on-site search performed at his office; he shall not be obliged to give testimony or a report regarding the attorney-client privileged information, but he may not obstruct the proceedings of the authority.
(2) In derogation from paragraph (1), documents drawn up for defence purposes shall not be used as evidence in an administrative or court procedure or other public authority procedure, nor, with the exception of those cases specified in this Subtitle, shall they be examined, seized or copied by public authorities, while presenting-, providing- and giving access to them may be refused. The person concerned may waive these rights except if the document relates to the defence in a criminal case.
(3) A document drawn up for defence purposes shall mean a document or any part thereof which is drawn up in order for the client to exercise his right to a defence in a public authority procedure, or drawn up in a public authority procedure in the course of the communication between the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law and his client, or upon recording the content of such communications, and this nature of the document is evident from the document itself. A document which is not in the possession of the client or the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall not qualify as a document drawn up for defence purposes unless if it is proved that the document was taken from their possession unlawfully or in a criminal procedure.
(4) Without prejudice to any right protected in this section, and only to the extent necessary, the authority shall be entitled to inspect the document in order to ascertain whether or not the reference to a document drawn up for the purposes of defence is clearly unfounded.
(5) If the classification of the document is disputed by and between the client and the authority then the authority shall have the right to take possession of the document concerned during the inspection or on-site search, with the proviso that the document shall be placed in a storage device that excludes its accessibility and subsequent alteration. In the issue of the classification of the document, the court acting in the administrative case shall, at the authority's application, decide in a non-contentious procedure, based on the hearing of the client concerned. The authority shall attach the document to its application.
(6) If the court finds that the document or the relevant part of it does not qualify as a document drawn up for the purposes of defence then it will make it available to the authority. If the court decides otherwise then it shall hand over the document or the relevant part of it to the client concerned.
(7) The application of the provisions of this section shall be subject to the derogations provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure.
9. Professional indemnity insurance of an attorney-at-law
14. § (1) Except for the activities of registered in-house legal counsels and junior in-house legal counsels, coverage for any damage caused by the professional activities of an attorney-at-law under section 2 and by the ancillary activities of attorneys-at-law set out in section 3 (1) a) to f) and m), as well as for any grievance award to be paid on account of an infringement of personality rights, shall be provided by an indemnity insurance policy.
(2) The lowest amount of indemnity insurance required to insure any damage and/or grievance award arising from the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, calculated per loss event, shall be fifteen million forints.
(3) In its regulations, the Hungarian Bar Association
a) may prescribe, for performing certain professional activities of an attorney-at-law, indemnity insurance at a higher amount than set out in paragraph (2), and
b) shall determine the lowest annual amount of the professional indemnity insurance of an attorney-at-law, as well as its requirements not regulated in an Act.
(4) For the purpose of insuring a member of the law office, the law office shall take out an indemnity insurance policy, while for the purpose of insuring a salaried attorney-at-law or a salaried European Community lawyer, the employer shall take out indemnity insurance.
(5) The employer's indemnity insurance shall also cover the professional activities of junior attorneys-at-law and attorney assistants.
15. § (1) For the purpose of insuring against any damage arising from the professional activities, as an attorney-at-law, of a European Community lawyer or a salaried European Community lawyer or a foreign legal advisor, as well as any grievance award to be paid on account of an infringement of personality rights, indemnity insurance shall have to be taken out if his professional indemnity insurance as an attorney-at-law taken out in accordance with the regulations of his own EEA State and also covering his professional activities as an attorney-at-law performed in the territory of Hungary, or his membership in a professional guarantee fund, does not meet all the requirements laid down by Hungarian law.
(2) In a case referred to in paragraph (1), in order to enforce a claim against the indemnity insurer, at the client's request, the bar association shall:
a) inform the client of those data contained in the European Community lawyer's indemnity insurance contract that are necessary for asserting claims, and
b) inform the client regarding the manner in which the client may initiate the assertion of his claims.
10. Office, branch office, sub-office and archives
16. § (1) The seat of an attorney-at-law, a European Community lawyer and a foreign legal advisor (hereinafter jointly "attorney-at-law") shall be his office located in the area of operations of the regional bar association of which he is a member, or which has registered him in the bar association register.
(2) The sub-office of an attorney-at-law shall be the premises located outside his seat but in the area of operations of the regional bar association as set out in paragraph (1).
(3) The branch office of an attorney-at-law shall be premises located in the area of operations of a regional bar association other than that defined in paragraph (1).
(4) The requirements applicable to the premises suitable for carrying out the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, as well as the rules which derogate from those applicable to attorneys-at-law or law offices having offices, branch offices or sub-offices at the same registered address, shall be determined by the Hungarian Bar Association in its regulations.
(5) If an attorney-at-law stores the documents related to his professional activities as an attorney-at-law wholly or partially at a location different from his office, sub-office or branch office, he shall notify the regional bar association that registered him in the bar association register of the address of that location.
11. Substitute attorney-at-law
17. § (1) An attorney-at-law who is not a member of a law office (hereinafter "individual attorney-at-law"), a European Community lawyer or a single-member law office (hereinafter jointly "substituted attorney-at-law") shall assign a substitute attorney-at-law, substituting him in the event he is hindered in carrying out his professional activities as an attorney-at-law.
(2) As regards the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, a substitute attorney-at-law shall act as a fully authorised substitute for the substituted attorney-at-law.
(3) A substitute attorney-at-law may be an attorney-at-law, a European Community lawyer or a law office.
(4) The assignment set out in paragraph (1) shall enter into force upon the entry of the substitute attorney-at-law as a substitute in the bar association register, and shall become ineffective if:
a) the assignment of the substitute or substituted attorney-at-law to carry out the professional activities of an attorney-at-law terminates, is voluntarily suspended or suspended by order, or
b) the qualification of the substitute attorney-at-law has been permanently deleted from the bar association register.
(5) The regional bar association shall cancel such qualification of a substitute attorney-at-law from the bar association register:
a) on the day when a decision under paragraph (4) a) reaches administrative finality,
b) upon recording a new substitute in the bar association register.
(6) The agreement on substitution shall not prevent the substituted attorney-at-law from agreeing with someone else concerning substitution regarding certain cases or group of cases, within the limits of the present Act.
12. Use of electronic signature and electronic seal in the course of practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law
18. § (1) Unless otherwise provided by law, where the use of an electronic signature is prescribed by law for practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, only a qualified electronic signature complying with the following conditions, or an advanced electronic signature based on a qualified certificate, may be used:
a) the fiduciary service provider, within the meaning of Act CCXXII of 2015 on the general rules of electronic case administration and fiduciary services (hereinafter "Act CCXXII of 2015"), has indicated in the certificate enclosed with the electronic signature or in the certificate of function enclosed therewith (hereinafter "fiduciary service provider") that the signatory is a member of the bar association or is validly entered in the bar association register, and
b) the fiduciary service provider ensures that its records are updated to indicate the amended status of revocation of the certificate within four hours upon receipt of the request of withdrawal, and continuously provides information to users requesting the verification of the certificate concerning the status of revocation of the certificate.
(2) The fiduciary service provider shall only issue a certificate on the electronic signature within the meaning of paragraph (1) or verify the same if, as recorded in the regional bar association register, the Hungarian Bar Association or a person or organisation having an agreement with the Hungarian Bar Association has certified to it that the signatory was a member of the bar association or was entered into the bar association register on the date of issue of the certificate, and that he did not cease practising his professional activities as an attorney-at-law, and he has not been suspended from practising.
(3) The fiduciary service provider shall provide information on issuing the certificate to bar associations.
(4) Upon complying with his information obligation laid down in sections 85 (1) and 97 (4) of Act CCXXII of 2015, the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall concurrently notify the relevant regional bar association of this as well.
(5) The person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law shall not use the electronic signature if:
a) his membership in the bar association is terminated, or he is deleted from the bar association register,
b) his right to practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law has been suspended;
c) he voluntarily suspends his activity as an attorney-at-law;
d) he becomes aware that his electronic signature-creation data were lost or that an unauthorised person became able to create his signature.
(6) In the cases under paragraph (5) a) to c) the regional bar association and, in the cases under paragraph (5) d) the person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, shall initiate at the fiduciary service provider the suspension or revocation of the electronic signature certificate.
(7) The fiduciary service provider shall immediately revoke the certificate at the request of the regional bar association or, if the fiduciary service provider guarantees the suspension of the certificate, it shall arrange the suspension of the validity of the certificate without delay.
(8) Except for countersigning documents, the provisions on electronic signature in this Act shall also be applied to any electronic seal used by the law office.
13. Legal practice
19. § (1) Legal practice shall mean the practice carried out as an attorney-at-law, a registered in-house legal counsel, a salaried attorney-at-law, a European Community lawyer, a salaried European Community lawyer, a judge of the Constitutional Court, a judge, a prosecutor, a notary, a junior attorney-at-law or a junior in-house legal counsel.
(2) Legal practice carried out in a foreign country shall be accepted subject to the conditions laid down in the regulations of the bar association.
(3) The periods of legal practice shall be counted in the aggregate.
CHAPTER III
LIMITATIONS OF PRACTISING THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF AN ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
20. § (1) Attorneys-at-law, European Community lawyers and foreign legal advisors (for the purposes of this Chapter, hereinafter jointly "attorneys-at-law") may not undertake to practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law for clients whose interests are in conflict with each other, and also if the client's interests are in conflict with the attorney-at-law's own interests beyond the case. This prohibition shall also be applicable if a future collision of interests is foreseeable.
(2) The person practising the professional activity activities of an attorney-at-law shall not undertake to perform any professional activities of an attorney-at-law in a case in which he had previously acted:
a) in his previous legal relationship, established for performing a task directly correlating with the exercise of official powers,
b) as a notary, deputy notary, bailiff, deputy bailiff, or
c) as a mediator, arbitrator, or in any other capacity related to dispute settlement, except for drawing up a document on the settlement reached as a result of such mediation, and legal representation in any related procedures.
(3) A person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law may not be a legal representative in public authority procedures conducted by a body exercising public powers or its legal successor, with which the person had a legal relationship for performing a duty directly related to exercising public powers, or with which he had a legal relationship for performing a duty directly related to its governance or supervision, for a period of two years following the termination of that legal relationship.
(4) A person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law may not pursue any professional activities as an attorney-at-law that would be in conflict with his obligation towards his former client, unless there is no connection between the previous and the new case, or if the former client, after having been informed of such an intention, consented to that activity.
(5) A person practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law may pursue any activity of an attorney-at-law against his former employer if the employment relationship terminated at least three years earlier, and if he was not involved in administering the case. The former employer may grant an exemption from that restriction.
(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (5), a registered in-house legal counsel or a junior in-house legal counsel may pursue the professional activities of an attorney-at-law against his former employer, unless otherwise provided by a non-competition agreement, with the proviso that he may provide legal representation against his former employer if his employment relationship terminated at least three years earlier, and if he was not involved in administering the case as an employee. The former employer may grant an exemption from that restriction.
(7) In the event that the interests of two or more clients are or may be in conflict with each other, the prohibition set out in paragraph (1) shall not apply to the attorney-at-law if:
a) the clients have certain common interests in connection with the case,
b) the clients, being aware of the conflict, consented to the possibility that the attorney-at-law can undertake to practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law to the benefit of the other client as well,
c) there is no risk of non-compliance with the confidentiality obligation of attorneys-at-law, and
d) the attorney-at-law has reasonable grounds to conclude that the conflict of interests will not prevent him from representing each of his clients' interests to the best of his ability.
(8) The attorney-at-law shall continuously examine the possibility of a conflict of interests of the clients even after undertaking the agency. If, upon such an examination, he finds that, under paragraph (1), he should not undertake to practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law concurrently for two or more clients, or if the conditions set out in paragraph (7) are not met, he shall terminate the agency for the conflicting case with all clients affected.
21. § (1) If any of the grounds of limitation listed in section 20 exist in respect of:
a) any member of a law office, association of attorneys-at-law or joint office of attorneys-at-law, or
b) an employee practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law in an employment relationship with an individual attorney-at-law or law office,
then the restriction shall apply to the individual attorney-at-law, the entire law office, association of attorneys-at-law or joint office of attorneys-at-law.
(2) In the event of the limitations laid down in section 20 (3), paragraph (1) shall not be applied; however, the client and the body exercising official powers shall be notified of those circumstances without delay.
(3) Paragraph (1) shall not be applicable if each agency is performed with the assistance of various private individuals and attorney assistants practising different professional activities of an attorney-at-law, and if the confidentiality of the privileged information is guaranteed between the various contributors, and if the client has expressly consented to that in writing.
CHAPTER IV
GROUNDS WHICH EXCLUDE PRACTISING THE PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES OF AN ATTORNEY-AT-LAW; CONFLICT OF INTERESTS
14. Grounds for exclusion from practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law
22. § (1) The following persons may not practice the professional activities of an attorney-at-law:
a) persons against whom there is a conflict of interests as set forth in this Act,
b) any person who has a prior criminal record or has been under professional disqualification from practising a profession requiring a university degree in law,
c) any person who has no prior criminal record, but:
ca) who has been convicted of an intentional criminal offence, for a period of eight years from the effective date of absolution in the event of a sentence of non-suspended imprisonment for a period of five years or more,
cb) a person who has been convicted of an intentional criminal offence, for a period of five years from the effective date of absolution in the event of a sentence of non-suspended imprisonment for a period of less than five years,
cc) a person who has been sentenced by the court to suspended imprisonment for committing an intentional criminal offence, for a period of three years from the date of expiry of the probation period,
cd) a person who has been ordered by the court to receive medical treatment in a mental institution, for a period of three years from the effective date of the court ruling for the termination of medical treatment,
d) a person who is subject to a disciplinary penalty of exclusion from the bar association or deletion from the bar association register (hereinafter jointly "disbarment"),
e) a person who has been placed under guardianship affecting his legal capacity, or is subject to supported decision-making,
f) any person who, owing to his lifestyle or conduct, is unfit for the public trust necessary for practising the professional activities of an attorney-at-law, or
g) any person who has any outstanding membership dues owed to a bar association, of at least an amount set out in the regulations of the bar association, or has any other debt based on an enforceable decision of a bar association, and has failed to pay it upon a written notice from the bar association to do so.
(2) Any person about whom it has been established that he practiced the professional activities of an attorney-at-law regularly and for consideration without authorisation may not pursue the professional activities of an attorney-at-law for three years, from the time when such a decision becomes final and binding.
(3) Paragraph (1) c) ca) and cb) shall not be applied in the event of absolution provided by an act of pardon.