the first time on a federal level. This law has a dual aspect, as it regulates national as well as international situations.
On a national level, the conditions of the Swiss lawyers' qualification were unified for the first time. Such a development was essential in order to enable lawyers who had qualified in Switzerland to move freely in the whole country. At the same time Cantons maintain the ability to determine the lawyers' education that shall apply in their territory. In fact, with regard to the conditions of registration in a Cantonal Register of Lawyers and the free movement of lawyers, only minimal conditions are foreseen by the law. This is done in accordance with the federal system that governs the country
On an international level, in the general context of the right of European Lawyers to practice freely within Europe, the FAFML prevents Switzerland from becoming an isolated island in the middle of an increasingly unified continent. In fact, the law integrates the conditions issued by the Bilateral Agreement on the Free Movement of Persons under which European Lawyers can practice in Switzerland on a per- manent or non-permanent basis.