The General Assembly

The General Assembly of Lawyers under the Law of the Profession and the Internal Regulations

First: The composition of the General Assembly of Lawyers and its Competencies

The composition of the General Assembly of Lawyers:

The ordinary and extraordinary General Assembly of Lawyers consists of all registered lawyers, including practicing and trainee lawyers, as stipulated by the article and the internal regulations of the profession.

Contrary to what was mentioned, the electoral General Assembly consists only of practicing lawyers.

• Competencies of the General Assembly of Lawyers:
• Competencies of the Ordinary General Assembly:

Article 87 of the Law of the Profession states that the Ordinary General Assembly meets at least once a year upon the invitation of the Dean, under his presidency, in the month following the opening of the judicial year.

Paragraph 3 of Article 87 of the Law of the Profession states: 'Only matters of a professional and legal nature presented by the Council of the Bar Association or issues raised by at least two-thirds (2/3) of its members or 2/3 of the Union Council members are submitted to the General Assembly of Lawyers.'

The General Assembly of Lawyers may make recommendations to the Council of the Bar Association.

the Dean presents a general financial and moral report on the activities of the Council of the Bar Association for the past year and submits it to the General Assembly for approval.

• Competencies of the Extraordinary General Assembly:

Article 87, Paragraph 2 of the Law of the Profession allows for the convening of the General Assembly in an extraordinary session upon request from the Dean or from at least two-thirds (2/3) of its members or 2/3 of the Union Council members.

How the Ordinary General Assembly is Convened:

According to the provisions of the Law of the Profession and the internal regulations of the profession, the General Assembly of Lawyers convenes in an ordinary session at least once a year upon invitation from the Dean, under his presidency, in the month following the opening of the judicial year, as stipulated in Article 87, Paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Law of the Profession. The National Union Council of Lawyers sets the date for the ordinary General Assemblies as stated in Article 100 of the internal regulations of the profession.

Article 103 of the internal regulations stipulates that the Council of the Bar Association must notify the members of the Ordinary General Assembly of the agenda at least 15 days before its opening. Any lawyer may propose projects or discussions during this period.

Article 105 of the internal regulations allows each lawyer to review and summarize any accounting document at least 15 days before the opening of the General Assembly, provided that it is done upon written request and within the organization's administrative office.

Lawyer's Obligations Towards the General Assembly of Lawyers:

• According to Article 101 of the internal regulations of the profession, the lawyer must attend the General Assemblies decided by the Head or the Council of the Bar Association.
• The lawyer must maintain discipline during discussions.
• Article 10 of the internal regulations states that a lawyer can hold only one power of attorney. If given more than one, all powers of attorney must be transferred.
• Paragraph 3 of Article 101 of the internal regulations stipulates that the lawyer must leave the floor if they exceed the limits set in Paragraph 2 of Article 106 of the internal regulations and may face disciplinary action for serious professional misconduct.

How the Ordinary General Assembly Proceedings are Conducted:

Article 102 of the internal regulations of the profession states that the Ordinary General Assembly is established by signing an attendance sheet by each lawyer or their representative, and this attendance sheet is attached to the minutes of the General Assembly after confirming the quorum.

During discussions, the Dean may limit the number of interventions on any item on the agenda according to Article 101, Paragraph 2 of the internal regulations. the Dean may also withdraw the floor from any lawyer who shifts the discussion to personal issues, insults, or settlements of scores.

Article 104, Paragraph 2 of the internal regulations allows for proxy voting, with a limit of one proxy per voter, and must be recorded in the organization's registry.

Each member of the law firm residing in the organization's area has one vote in the election.

Voting Proceedings of the Ordinary General Assembly:

Article 88, Paragraph 1 of the Law of the Profession states that the proceedings of the General Assembly are valid only with the presence of the absolute majority of registered lawyers, and proxies are not accepted for quorum purposes.

Paragraph 2 of Article 88 states that if the quorum is not met, the General Assembly will reconvene within a month, excluding the judicial vacation period. In this case, the proceedings are valid regardless of the number of members present.

Article 89 of the Law of the Profession and Paragraph 1 of Article 104 of the internal regulations state that decisions of the General Assembly are taken by a majority vote, with proxy voting allowed up to one proxy per voter, as enshrined in Paragraph 2 of Article 104 of the internal regulations and Paragraph 3 of Article 104 of the legal regulations.

Paragraph 2 of Article 89 of the Law of the Profession stipulates that a copy of the General Assembly's decisions must be communicated within 15 days to the Minister of Justice, the Keeper of the Seals, and the Union Council, each of whom has the right to challenge these decisions before the competent judicial authority within two months of receiving them.

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The General Assembly under the Law and the Regulation of the Legal Profession: 

 

 

The composition of the general assembly of lawyers and its competence:

It is composed of honorary lawyers and the ones of the roll according to the regulation of the legal profession. As aforementioned, the general assembly includes lawyers in practice.

 

The Competence of the Ordinary general assembly: 

• In accordance with Article 87 of the legal profession’s regulation ,that the ordinary  general assembly shall hold at least one meeting annually scheduled by the bar council and at his presence, within one month of the judicial year’s opening.
• In accordance with the 3rd paragraph of Article 87, that only professional and judicial matters can be referred to and submitted by the bar association and/or two thirds (⅓) of the general assembly and/or two thirds (⅓) of the members of the union’s council. The general assembly may provide recommendations to the bar association. A financial and moral report of the bar association’s activities of the previous year is presented by the bar council and shall be submitted to the general assembly.

The Competence of the extraordinary general  assembly:

An extraordinary general assembly may be called by the bar council or at the request of at least two thirds (⅔) of its members or two thirds (⅔) of the members of the union’s council.

The holding of the Ordinary General Assembly: 

• In accordance with the regulation of the legal profession , 1st and 3rd paragraphs of Article 87 , that the general assembly shall hold at least one ordinary session annually scheduled by the bar council and at his  presence within one month of the judicial year’s opening. According to article 100 of the same document, it is up to the union’s council to determine the date of the ordinary sessions’ convocations.
• According to Article 103, that the members of the general ordinary assembly are notified by the bar association at least 15 days before the opening, during this period, every lawyer is given the right to suggest draft wishes or any deliberations.
• In accordance with Article 105 of the same document, 15 days before the general assembly, and upon a written request, every lawyer is given the right to examine every accounting record providing that this action occurs at the headquarters of the organisation.

The Obligations of the Lawyer toward the General Assembly:

• In accordance with Article 101 of the same document, every lawyer is to attend the general assemblies organised by the bar council or the association. As he shall be well disciplined during discussions.
• According to Article 10 of the same document that a lawyer is granted one POA ( power of attorney), if more, he must ensure the customer's satisfaction by taking the necessary measures to prove his diligence toward his clients as a task accomplishment. The 3rd paragraph of Article 101 of the same document indicates that in case of any violation or misconduct or malpractice, the lawyer is to be subject to disciplinary process according to the penalties specified in Article 106, the 2nd paragraph of the regulation of legal profession.

The Function of the Ordinary General Assembly’s Opening:

• Article 102 of the regulation of the legal profession indicates that the ordinary meeting occurs in the presence of all the lawyers, accompanied with an attendance sheet signed by the lawyer or his prosecutor during the meeting. A meeting minutes shall be recorded to stay in compliance with the decisions taken after the approval of the quorum.
• Article 101, the 2nd paragraph, the bar council can , at any moment,  control the number of interventions in the agenda during the discussion. In case of any deviations at a personal level, insults, reckoning or turning any discussion into personal interests, the lawyer is immediately refrained from continuing his speech by the bar council.
• Article 104, the 2nd paragraph from regulation and legal profession indicates that the poll is conducted by a single POA( power of attorney) for each bar council after being mentioned in a particular register at the headquarters of the organisation. Every member in the bar association is granted the right for a single voice provided that they reside in the same area as the bar association’s during the elections.

The Electoral Deliberations of the Ordinary General Assembly:

• Article 88, the 1st paragraph, that the deliberations of the general assembly shall occur only by the attendance of the majority of lawyers of the roll. Or else, no POA( power of attorney) will be accepted in the quorum’s calculation.
• The abovementioned paragraph from article 88, indicates that in case the quorum is not achieved, the general assembly gathers again within a maximum of one month, without taking into account the judicial vacations. In this case, deliberations will take place despite the number of attendees.
• Article 89, and the 1st paragraph of Article 104 of the same legal document, indicates that deliberations are taken based on the majority of voices and that the vote by POA( power of attorney) is conducted in the limit of one POA per voter.
• This is what Article 104, the 2nd and 3rd paragraphs, tackled in the regulation of legal profession documents.
• Article 89, the 2nd paragraph, states that lawyers shall be notified with a deliberations’ copy handed by the general assembly, 15 days before the meeting, to the minister of justice and the keeper of seals, as well to the union’s council. These latters are granted the right to report these deliberations to the court within 2 months from the notification’s date.
• The bar association of Béjaia was created on the behalf of the justice minister’s decision, the keeper of seals, on july 12th, 2009. -The total number of lawyers in exercice within the bar association is estimated to 1153 as follow:
  • Judicial Council of Béjaia: 608 lawyers.
  • Amizour Court : 38 lawyers , El Kseur’s annex: 91 lawyers.
  • Akbou Court : 214 lawyers, Tazmalt’s annex: 31 avocats.
  • Kherrata Court : 89 lawyers. Among them 326 admitted lawyers in the supreme court , whereas 1353 omitted.

The Nomination of the Board committee of composition(training):

• In accordance with Article 120 from the regulation of legal profession that the board’s committee of composition is nominated by the bar council, as follow:

/Laariche Said (president) 0770451050

/ Ferkane Mohand Laarbi ( member)0661630205

/ Belkhatmi Rabah(member) 034263901

/ Ben Ouareth Mohand 066163053

/ Issaad Fatma (member) 0556662003

/Khatri Mokhtar( member) 034161278

/ Zerarga Belkacem ( member) 07703402160

/Ben Bara Allaoua 0661631546

/Bakouri Amer(member)0770503901

/Boudina Bouaalam (member)0770261290

/Hilal Abdelhafid(member) 0551046796

/Mousasseb Zouhir (member) 0776739404

/ Hamouche Abdelrahmane ( member) 0776205912

/Athmani Bilal( member) 0659830643

/Mokrani Zakaria( member) 0556640949

 

 

 

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