## Facts

- Irène Vlassopoulou, a Greek national, was admitted to practice law in Athens.
- She earned a law doctorate in Germany and worked for several years in a German law firm, including providing advice on Greek and Community law under German authorization.
- She applied for admission as a German lawyer in Baden-Württemberg.
- The Ministry rejected her application because she lacked the German qualification for judicial office, typically obtained through German legal studies, two state examinations, and preparatory training.
- National courts rejected her challenge; the German Federal Supreme Court referred questions to the Court of Justice for interpretation of Article 52 EEC (freedom of establishment).

## Issues

1. Whether Article 52 EEC requires a host Member State to compare an applicant’s foreign legal qualification and relevant training/experience with domestic requirements before refusing admission to the legal profession.
2. Whether the host state may deny admission solely because formal domestic training and examination requirements are not met.
3. What procedural safeguards (reasons and judicial review) must accompany a refusal based on such a comparison.

## Decision

- The Court held that Article 52 EEC requires competent national authorities to examine, case by case, the extent to which the applicant’s foreign diploma and qualifications correspond to those required by host-state rules.
- If the comparative assessment shows full correspondence, the host state must treat the foreign diploma as satisfying the national requirements.
- If correspondence is partial, the host state may require proof of the missing knowledge and skills but must evaluate whether the applicant has already acquired them through study or practical experience in the host state.
- Any resulting decision must be reasoned and capable of judicial review for compliance with Community law.

## Legal Principles

- Freedom of establishment constrains professional-access rules: a host state must not apply domestic entry conditions in a way that disregards equivalent qualifications obtained in another Member State.
- National authorities must conduct an individualized comparison between (a) domestic knowledge/qualifications required and (b) the applicant’s foreign diploma and other relevant qualifications, including host-state study or practice.
- Compensatory requirements are permitted only to address identified gaps after comparison; they must be tied to missing competencies rather than imposed automatically.
- Effective protection of Treaty-based rights requires that refusals state reasons and be subject to judicial review.

## Conclusion

Article 52 EEC obliges Member State authorities to assess equivalence of an EU lawyer’s qualifications and relevant experience before denying access to the profession, to recognize fully equivalent credentials, to use targeted measures only for verified gaps, and to issue reasoned decisions reviewable by courts.


Vlassopoulou v. Ministerium für Justiz, Bundes- und Europaangelegenheiten Baden-Württemberg (Case C-340/89), [1991] 1 E.C.R. I-2357 (1991)