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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 November 2019
This article, written by Mark Hatcher, provides an overview of the background and achievements of the Bar Council, the professional body for barristers in England and Wales, since its formation in 1894. It traces the early years of the council and its expansion after the second world war, following the growth in legal aid and other post-war reconstruction measures. It describes changes in the structure and organisation of the Bar Council culminating in the implementation of reforms which followed the Legal Services Act 2007, which resulted in the separation of representation of the Bar from regulation of the profession which was delegated to the Bar Standards Board in 2006. It concludes with an overview of the key issues that are driving the Bar Council's activity to promote the Bar's high quality specialist advocacy and advisory services, and to promote access to justice for all.
1 Baker, J An Introduction to English Legal History (2019, 5th ed) Oxford, p 173.
2 See Boulton, W W Conduct and Etiquette at the Bar (1953) London, Butterworths. William Boulton, who had been called to the Bar by the Inner Temple in 1936 and practised on the North Eastern Circuit, was appointed Secretary of the Bar Council in 1950. His Conduct and Etiquette, which appeared in several editions over 25 years, brought together for the first time the principal opinions and rules of the Bar Council. Known as “the little red book” it was presented, until well into the 1980s, to every barrister when called by his Inn of Court. Boulton was knighted on his retirement in 1975. He died in 2010.
3 In its Evidence to the Monopolies Commission Inquiry (1968) at p 11 the Bar Council estimated that about 90% of 2,200 or so practising barristers subscribed voluntarily to the Council.
4 Report of the Royal Commission on Assizes and Quarter Sessions (1969) Cmnd 4153.
5 (1979) Cmnd 7648.
6 Ibid, paras. 17.45-17.46.
7 A Time for Change: Report of the Committee on the Future of the Legal Profession (1988).
8 See in particular the Lord Chancellor's Department paper The Work and Organisation of the Legal Profession (1989) Cm 570.
9 The Times (leading article), 23 March 1989.
10 Official Report (HC), 21 March 1989 at cols 907-908.
11 Judges’ Response (1989) p 5.
12 Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.17.
13 Office of Fair Trading, Competition in the Professions: A Report by the Director General of Fair Trading (2001).
14 Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales (2004).
15 The Future of Legal Services: Putting Consumers First (2005) Cm 6679.
16 Legal Services Act 2007, Schedule 4.
17 Bar Council, Report of Sir Paul Kennedy's Working Group on Bar Council Representation (2007): https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/media/58678/kennedyfullreportfinal_010507.pdf.
18 Ibid, p 7.
19 R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC 5.
20 Bar Council, Strategic Plan 2019 – 2024: https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/media/743982/bar_council_strategy_document_final.pdf.
21 (2006) Cm. 6993.
22 The Right to Justice (2017).
23 See, for example, the Third Survey (2017): https://www.barcouncil.org.uk/media/661503/working_lives_-_final.pdf.
24 TheCityUK, Legal Excellence, internationally renowned: UK Legal Services (2018).
26 Bar Council, International Rule of Law Lectures: The First Ten Years (2016) Wildy London.
28 On 22 April 2017 the Bar Council resolved by a majority of 48 members of 72 present to change the title of ‘Chairman of the Bar’. It was agreed later that the title should be ‘Chair of the Bar’.
