Legal professions : action programme Robert SCHUMAN, project to improve awareness of Community law

For the reasons mentioned above, the Robert Schuman Project is particularly apposite, despite the modest funding envisaged. It seeks to make the 100,000 or so judges and 450,000 lawyers in the Community realize the importance of their role in ensuring the application of Community law. The Committee supports the proposal, but it has some specific comments: The project solely concerns judges and lawyers, and excludes all other members of the legal profession. As the Member States have different concepts of the term "judge and lawyer", each should use its own concept. The Committee nevertheless stresses the considerable importance of legal practitioners within companies, organizations and associations as regards day-to-day experience and practical application of Community law. In this context, the Commission proposal already states that "the possibility of extending the scope of the project could be envisaged in connection with the assessment and monitoring arrangements referred to in Article 9". The Committee hopes that when the time comes, such an extension will indeed be considered. Nonetheless the Commission's justification for initially restricting the proposal to judges and lawyers is sound. Firstly, it is necessary to set clearly delimited objectives and concentrate the modest resources available in order to ensure the effectiveness of the scheme. Secondly, the real objective of the scheme is to improve the practical enforcement of Community law by the courts, and this depends on judges and lawyers, and only very indirectly on other legal practitioners. Furthermore, universities and other specialist institutions providing basic training for future judges and lawyers are generally already well aware of the objectives of the scheme, although it is hoped they will be provided with more effective means for pursuing these objectives. Also, it is the older and more senior judges and lawyers who have proved less willing and able to assimilate Community law. It might therefore be best to make them the priority target of the scheme. ROAD TAXES AND CHARGES�