The CCBE is one of the biggest and the most influential organizations in Europe and recognized as the voice of the European legal profession representing, through its members, more than 1 million European lawyers. Founded in 1960 the CCBE is an international non-profit association which has been, since its creation, at the forefront of advancing the views of European lawyers and defending the legal principles upon which democracy and the rule of law are based.
CCBE membership includes the bars and law societies of 46 countries from the European Union, the European Economic Area, and wider Europe. The organization consists of 32 member countries and 14 further associate and observer countries. Outside of the EU, the CCBE works with other lawyers’ organizations around the world.
The CCBE represents European bars and law societies in their common interests before European and other international institutions. It regularly acts as a liaison between its members and the European institutions, international organizations, and other legal organizations around the world.
On May 13rd , 2022, at the plenary session of the CCBE in Dublin, Ireland, ABA was admitted as an observer member of that organization. Elchin Usub, Office Head of Rödl & Partner Azerbaijan, is to represent the ABA as its board member in a PECO Committee of CCBE.
As a result of 4 years of fruitful activities under leadership of the Chairman of ABA Mr. Anar Baghirov elected at the end of 2017 and intense discussions, ABA was officially recognized by the CCBE as an independent profession union and was admitted as an observer member by a large majority (according to the Twitter account of the CCBE, ‘Following a presentation by the ABA containing detailed explanations of improvements in the Azerbaijani legal system and with clear commitments for the future, the application of the ABA for observer membership of the CCBE has been accepted’).
NB: The observer members are the organizations which are representative of the profession of lawyer in a Member State of the Council of Europe and which have been admitted as such by the Plenary Session.