“Security and Freedom: Lawyers as Guardians Against the Abuse of Power”

On 25 October 2026, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) will celebrate European Lawyers’ Day within the framework of the European Day of Justice. This year’s theme – “Security and freedom: lawyers as guardians against abuse of power” – goes to the heart of the role of the legal profession in a democratic society.

Across Europe, governments are facing serious and evolving challenges. Organised crime, terrorism, cybercrime, migration, geopolitical instability and rapidly developing technologies all place real pressure on our institutions and legal systems. Governments have a responsibility to protect their citizens and to ensure security – but the pursuit of security must always remain anchored in the rule of law.

From the perspective of the legal profession, security and freedom are not opposing forces. They are interdependent.

• Security without freedom can become control.
• Freedom without security can become fragile.
• Both ultimately depend upon the rule of law.

The central question is therefore not whether Europe should respond firmly to threats. It is how those threats are addressed, and what we risk losing if legal safeguards are weakened in the process.

History teaches us that moments of fear and uncertainty are precisely the moments when legal principles can become most vulnerable. When threats evolve rapidly, when technology develops faster than regulation, and when public anxiety is high, there can be a temptation to regard legal safeguards as obstacles to effective action.

We hear familiar arguments – that procedures are too slow, that rights are too generous, that judicial oversight is too restrictive, or even that lawyers are “getting in the way”.

This is precisely when the legal profession has a responsibility to speak clearly.

The rule of law is not a fair-weather principle. It exists precisely to regulate the exercise of power when pressure is greatest. Access to an independent lawyer, professional secrecy, the presumption of innocence, judicial independence, proportionality and effective remedies are not abstract ideals. They are structural guarantees which ensure that power is exercised lawfully, rationally and legitimately.

These safeguards also contribute to effective criminal justice. They help ensure that investigations are lawful, evidence is reliable, prosecutions are fair and convictions are sustainable. Systems that weaken defence rights do not necessarily become stronger or more effective. They can instead become more fragile, with cases overturned, public confidence diminished and the legitimacy of institutions undermined.

As the CCBE emphasised in its contribution to the 2025 European Commission High-Level Forum on the Future of EU Criminal Justice, greater efficiency and cooperation are important objectives, but criminal justice reforms which sideline fundamental rights ultimately risk undermining their own objectives.

Lawyers occupy a unique position. They work at the interface between the individual and the state and are often among the first to see when legal safeguards are being eroded in practice. Lawyers do not defend crime – they defend legality.

When the state exercises its most coercive powers, lawyers ensure that those powers remain within legal limits and subject to independent scrutiny. By challenging unlawful actions, lawyers strengthen institutions. By insisting on fair procedures, they protect the integrity of outcomes. By upholding rights, they help preserve public trust.
This role is particularly important at a time when new technologies are transforming the way security measures are conceived and implemented.

Across Europe, there is increasing reliance on surveillance, data retention, access to digital evidence and biometric technologies, including facial recognition and other forms of identification. Some of these tools may be necessary in the fight against serious crime – but none should be unaccountable.

Access to data must be based on clear legal rules, strict necessity and proportionality, appropriate judicial authorisation and effective remedies. Without such safeguards, technologies developed to protect society can instead become instruments of overreach.

The protection of professional secrecy is particularly important in this context. Confidential lawyer‑client communications are a cornerstone of a fair trial and an essential condition for trust in the justice system. Undermining confidentiality does not strengthen justice or investigations – it undermines their legitimacy.

In conclusion, the challenge facing Europe is not to choose between security and freedom. It is to ensure that security policies protect both. The real distinction is not between rights and safety, but between lawful power and unchecked power. Unchecked power may act quickly and may appear decisive, but over time it erodes democratic legitimacy.

Europe’s legal tradition is founded on the principle that law restrains power rather than serving it. That principle is not a weakness. It is one of the foundations of democratic security. Long-term security depends upon legitimacy, trust and accountability. Once exceptional measures become normal and safeguards are progressively weakened, restoring the balance can be extremely difficult.

European Lawyers’ Day 2026 provides an opportunity to reaffirm the essential contribution of lawyers to maintaining that balance. Lawyers are part of the architecture that makes security lawful, legitimate and sustainable. Through the CCBE and the Bars and Law Societies it represents across Europe, the legal profession has a shared responsibility to defend these principles and to ensure that, even in times of uncertainty and pressure, the rule of law remains at the heart of our response to the challenges we face. In confronting modern threats, Europe must remain faithful to the principles it seeks to protect. The rule of law is not the price of security. It is its guarantee. If we lose our principles in the name of security, we risk securing nothing worth protecting.