News

THE 24th Annual Bar Conference, which took place on 7 November 2009 in central London, focused this year on Access to Justice. At a time when the Bar is facing regulatory changes which could revolutionise the way it works, and the future of the publicly-funded Bar is endangered by repeated cuts to the legal aid budget, the Conference heard leading figures from the legal, political, media and academic worlds discuss the future of the justice system. The keynote speaker was Sir Nicolas Bratza, one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Court of Human Rights. Other speakers, such as Dominic Grieve QC MP, Lord Carlile of Berriew QC, Diane Abbott MP and Sara Payne, the first Victims’ Champion, addressed issues such as mediation, the treatment of women in the justice system, pro bono work, and international access to justice. 

The last Queen’s Speech before next year’s General Election covered an ambitious range of measures, including free social care for the
neediest pensioners, help for consumers to bring group legal action against fi nancial institutions and compulsory reporting of gender pay diff erences. The programme, to be implemented within 80 Parliamentary days before the June election deadline, is made up of ten new Bills, three carried over from the previous session and two draft Bills. The legislation includes: 

• Th e Social Care Bill, which applies to England only, would see 400,000 elderly people offered help with care in their own homes.  
• The Financial Services Bill would establish a Council for Financial Stability, and makes banks and fi nancial fi rms hold larger reserves of capital and set up “living wills” to make it easier to wind down in the event of failure. However, there is no cap for bonuses. 
• The Equality Bill would extend the ban on age discrimination to the provision of goods and services as well as in the workplace. Businesses with more than 250 employees will have a duty to report on gender differences in pay. 
• A Bribery Bill makes it illegal to bribe a foreign offi cial or accept a bribe to obtain or retain business. 
• Th e Fiscal Responsibility Bill commits the government to halving the £825 billion budget deficit within four years. 

The implementation of a ‘universal’ Aptitude test for entry to the Bar Professional Training Course was a recommendation that came out of the Review of the Vocational Stage of training carried out by a Working Group chaired by Derek Wood QC. 

A great deal of work has been carried out on the development of such a test. It will be piloted in January 2010 in order to ensure it is fit for purpose and that it does not discriminate against any particular group. In addition, an opinion on the test has been sought and is being written by John Howell QC, to advise on the appropriateness of using such a mechanism as an additional entry requirement for the Vocational stage of training at the Bar. The aptitude test is expected to be a requirement for students applying to do the Bar Professional Training Course in 2011. 

The UK has implemented the 2005 Framework Decision on mutual recognition of (court-ordered) financial penalties no longer subject to appeal. The implementing measures were included in the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008. 

http://www.sparksproject.org/Userfiles/File%5CBriefing%20for%20MoJ%20Press%20Office%20MRFP%2025%20Sept09%20(2).pdf 

The Attorney General, Baroness Scotland QC has issued an 11-point guidance note to the Crown Prosecution Service, Serious Fraud
Office, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office and Public Prosecutions Office for Northern Ireland on the exercise of their asset recovery powers under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. The Home Secretary is issuing the same guidance to the Serious Organised Crime Agency. 

The JHA Council has formally asked the Commission and the Member States to embark on a major strategy to ensure the fulfilment of rights and support for victims of crime in the EU. Look out for Commission legislative proposals on the subject in 2010. 

http://www.consilium.europa.eu/uedocs/cms_Data/docs/pressdata/en/jha/110726.pdf 

By the time of reading, the Council should have adopted a new Framework Decision aimed at resolving jurisdictional conflicts in criminal cases, through the establishment of a procedure for contact between the competent authorities, and rules on their exchange of information. 

The Ministry of Justice has published the report of Victim’s Champion Sara Payne into criminal justice. The recommendations include
calls for judges to explain the exact period a convicted offender is likely to spend in custody. A spokesperson for the judiciary said: “The judiciary is very sensitive to the needs of victims, but always in the context of ensuring the essential components of a fair trial.” 

The EU’s work programme for the next 5 years in the area of Justice Liberty and Security, which is to be adopted at the December Summit in Stockholm, has been the subject of wide consultation and debate over the past 18 months. At the time of writing, the most up-to-date version is the Swedish Presidency draft, which can be seen at:
http://register.consilium.europa.eu/pdf/en/09/st14/st14449.en09.pdf 

Barristers have been given the go-ahead to supply legal services within new business structures. On 20 November the Bar Standards Board (“BSB” ) approved the creation of legal disciplinary practices (“LDP”) and, in principle, barrister-only partnerships (“BoP”). Barristers will be free to become managers of LDPs, regulated by the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, without having to requalify as solicitors. The decision applies only in principle to LDPs which include up to 25 per cent non-lawyer managers.