Powers of the President of the Bar
Explanation
The law regulates cases of vacancy in the position of the President of the Bar Association [le Bâtonnier] and the positions of the members of the Bar Council [le Conseil de l'Ordre]. If the position of the President becomes vacant, the solution depends on the remaining period of his term. If the period exceeds six months, the General Assembly is convened within thirty days to elect a new President to complete the term of his predecessor.
However, if the remaining period of the President's term is less than six months, no elections are held. In this case, the Secretary [le Secrétaire] assumes the position of the President as acting President until the end of the term.
Regarding the members of the Bar Council, if a position of one of them becomes vacant, he is immediately replaced by the runner-up who received the highest number of votes after the winners in the last elections. If there is no runner-up, and vacancies reach up to half the number of members, the Council continues its work with the remaining members until the date of the first General Assembly to elect replacements.
If more than half of the Council members' positions become vacant before the first of July, the extraordinary General Assembly must be convened within one month to elect new members. The first ten days of this month are allocated for nomination. In all cases, the new member completes the remaining period of his predecessor's term.
The Bar Council is considered completely dissolved if the number of vacant positions exceeds two-thirds of the members. In this case, the extraordinary General Assembly is convened to hold general elections for the Council members, but the President remains in his position and does not fall with the dissolution of the Council.
Finally, the law imposes an obligation [l'obligation] on the Council members to attend meetings. A member is legally considered resigned [démissionnaire] if he is absent from attending three consecutive meetings without providing an acceptable excuse.
Official legal articles
replace · 1991-02-21: Open the official text
Think deeper
How does the legal procedure differ when the position of the President becomes vacant compared to the vacancy of the positions of the Bar Council members in terms of the role of the Secretary?
Flashcards
What happens if the position of the President becomes vacant and more than six months remain in his term?
The General Assembly is convened within a period of thirty days to elect a new President who completes the remainder of the term.
Who assumes the duties of the President if his position becomes vacant and less than six months remain in the term?
The Secretary assumes the position of the President as acting President until the end of the term.
Who fills the position of a Bar Council member when it becomes vacant in the normal case?
It is filled by the runner-up who received the highest number of votes after the winners in the last election.
What happens if more than half of the Bar Council members' positions become vacant before the first of July?
The extraordinary General Assembly is convened within a period of one month to elect those who will fill these positions.
When is the Bar Council considered dissolved?
The Council is considered dissolved if the number of vacant positions exceeds two-thirds of the members.
Does the President fall from his position if the Bar Council is considered dissolved?
No, the President remains in his position and the General Assembly is convened to elect the Council members only.
When is a Bar Council member considered resigned due to absence?
If he is absent from the Council meetings three consecutive times without an acceptable excuse.
Practice questions
The position of the President became vacant and five months remained in his term. Who assumes the position?
If the remaining period of the term is less than six months, the Secretary assumes the position of the President as acting President until the end of the term (Article 52).
A member's position in the Bar Council became vacant. Who replaces him immediately?
The vacant position is filled by the runner-up who received the highest number of votes after the winners in the last election (Article 53).
The number of vacant positions in the Bar Council exceeded two-thirds of the members. What is the fate of the President?
In the event of the Council's dissolution due to the vacancy of more than two-thirds of the positions, the President remains in his position (Article 54).
A Bar Council member was absent from meetings four consecutive times without an excuse. What is the legal consequence?
The member is considered resigned if he is absent from the Council meetings three consecutive times without an acceptable excuse (Article 55).
More than half of the Bar Council members' positions became vacant in the month of May (before the first of July). What is the time limit to convene the extraordinary General Assembly?
The extraordinary General Assembly is convened within a period of one month, the first ten days of which are allocated for nomination (Article 53).
What is the term of office of the successor member who is elected to fill a vacant position in the Bar Council?
In all cases of vacancy, the successor replaces his predecessor for the remainder of his membership term (Article 53).
Case problems
The President of the Bar Association died in February, and his term was to end in November of the same year. At the same time, a member of the Bar Council was absent from attending four consecutive Council meetings due to traveling for tourism without providing an excuse. What are the legal procedures that must be taken regarding the position of the President and the position of the member?
Model answer
Regarding the position of the President, the remaining period of the term exceeds six months (from February to November).
Therefore, the General Assembly must be convened within a period of thirty days from the date of the vacancy to elect a new President.
The elected President will complete the remainder of the previous President's term.
As for the Bar Council member, he is considered resigned because he was absent from the Council meetings more than three consecutive times without an acceptable excuse.
His vacant position is filled by the runner-up who received the highest number of votes after the winners in the last election.
Self-grading rubric
Ten out of twelve members of the Bar Council resigned at once. Some lawyers demanded holding general elections for all Council members, including the President, under the pretext of the Council's dissolution. Do they have the right to demand the election of a new President in this case?
Model answer
They do not have the right to demand the election of a new President.
According to the law, the Bar Council is considered dissolved if the number of vacant positions exceeds two-thirds of the members.
In this case, ten out of twelve resigned, which exceeds two-thirds, so the Council is considered dissolved.
Accordingly, the extraordinary General Assembly is convened for a general election of the Bar Council members.
However, the text is explicit that the President remains in his position despite the dissolution of the Council, and no elections are held for his position.