News

In preparation for attending the above lecture, and indeed in anticipation of developments were the Lisbon Treaty to be adopted, a perusal of the House of Lords EU Committee’s recent report of the above name would be most informative: 

http://www.publications. parliament.uk/pa/ld200809/ldselect/ldeucom/125/125.pdf 

BSB Committee vacancies will be advertised shortly – watch for the advertisements in the Sunday Times. 

THE Bar Council and the Criminal Bar Association welcome the publication of the House of Commons Justice Select Committee’s report on the Work of the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). The report, entitled The Crown Prosecution Service: Gatekeeper of the Criminal Justice System, highlights areas for attention which include consistency, the piecemeal way in which its functions are developing and the proportion of cases taken by in-house advocates. 

The report calls for the Attorney General and the Director of Public Prosecutions to define the role of the prosecutor in the criminal justice system. That role has evolved incrementally, with no clear framework in which their roles have developed, and as a result it is recommended that the CPS needs to be given direction to ensure that it provides a defined, efficient and effective service. The report stresses that the implications for the criminal justice system as a whole of the increased use of in-house advocacy must be taken into account, not just the organisational interests of the CPS. In particular the committee states that “The development of CPS advocacy cannot simply be seen as the next logical step in how the CPS should develop..” and it echoes concerns expressed in evidence given by the CBA in recognising that “the consequences of CPS advocacy on the future provision and quality of legal services as a whole require attention” 

The Legal Services Board has a number of consultation papers out for consideration now and there are more to come through the rest of the year. The consultation papers concern various aspects of how the legal profession will be regulated in the future. Open consultations are: 

Consultation on rules governing the making of representations and the giving of evidence on the scope of the Reserved Legal Activities
Consultation closes – 5pm, 28 October 2009
Consultation on shaping a statement of policy on compliance and enforcement powers
Consultation closes – 5pm, 26 October 2009
Designating new approved regulators and approving rule changes: Discussion paper on developing rules to approve applications for designation as an approved regulator and to approve changes to the rules of approved regulators
Consultation closes – 5pm, 13 October 2009
Upcoming consultations 

Desmond Browne QC, the Chairman of the Bar Council, has criticised proposals to reform legal aid as “cuts in spending, pure and simple”. 

In August, the Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) set out its plans to “rebalance” the £2 billion legal aid budget, in its consultation, Legal Aid: Funding Reforms . These include “rationalising” the rate of pay for defence barristers in Crown Court cases so that they are brought more in line with CPS rates, which are on average 23 per cent less. 

David Hobart, Bar Council Chief Executive, Mark Muller QC, Bar Human Rights Committee Chair, and Robert Heslett, Law Society President, have expressed concern at reports of mass trials being held in Iran following the political unrest after the disputed June presidential elections. Reports indicate that lawyers have been denied access to their clients, to prosecution case documents and to knowledge of the dates of the trials (see p  iii of Bar News for further details). 

The Chief Executive of the Bar Council of England and Wales, the Chairman of the Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales and the President of the Law Society of England and Wales expressed their deep concern at reports of mass trials being held in Iran following the political unrest after the disputed June presidential elections. 

The fourth mass trial in Tehran’s Revolutionary Court began yesterday where over 100 people have been accused of crimes including rioting, vandalism, “acting against national security”, and conspiring against the ruling system. 

The Swedish Council Presidency is hosting what could prove to be a timely and politically important conference on this subject on 22 October 2009, reviving the tradition started under the UK Presidency in late 2005. 

See http://www.se2009.eu/en/meetings_news/2009/10/22/a_common_frame_of_reference_for_european_contract_law 

The Bar’s regulatory body has said it would be “wrong” for it to permit barristers to enter into Alternative Business Structures (“ABS”) without further research. 

Responding to the Legal Services Board’s (“LSB”) discussion paper on developing a regulatory regime for ABS, Wider access, better value, strong protection, the Bar Standards Board (“BSB”) called for more evidence about what sort of market is likely to be created, and its impact on the consumers of legal services. 

THE Bar Council has published its response to the Legal Services Board’s wide-ranging discussion paper on Alternative Business Structures (ABS). The response from its Working Group on ABS reflects the Bar Council’s support for a pragmatic and proportionate approach to the liberalisation of the legal services market, as envisaged by Sir David Clementi in his review of legal services in England and Wales. 

In its response, the Bar Council broadly welcomes the introduction of Alternative Business Structures for the legal professions, and believes that legal services consumers will benefit from increased competition between the Bar, known for its low overheads and high levels of expertise, and other legal services providers.