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At our Bar Conference in June, delegates voted for two issues from the Bar Council’s Manifesto for justice 2024 as their top priorities for the next government: first, the government should uphold, respect and promote the rule of law, and secondly, the government should ensure access to justice by widening the scope of legal aid eligibility.
Our manifesto sets out an eight-point plan under three themes: a strong, effective and properly funded justice system, access to justice, and upholding the rule of law. The election of the new government provides a fresh start and opportunity to restore this most fundamental of public services, the justice system.
The International Bar Association’s (IBA’s) report recently issued on the social and economic impact of the legal profession shows the positive economic impact of the legal profession globally: legal services employ approximately 20 million professionals and create an additional 14 million jobs related to legal work. The legal profession represents 0.25% of the world’s population and generates approximately 1.7% of the world’s GDP.
Legal services contribute increasing sums to the UK economy and it represents the second largest legal market in the world (10% of the global market). The legal sector contributes to the UK net exports of £5.7 billion including £0.5 billion by the Bar itself.
Here in the UK, justice has often been the forgotten public service and it receives just 1% of total government spending. In real terms per person, spending on justice has fallen by 22% since 2009/10. Every part of the justice system that relies on government support and public funding is in a parlous state. That is why we need urgent investment and why the Bar Council is calling for new investment of around £2.5 billion per year (less than a quarter of 1% of public spending) to bring the whole of the courts and publicly funded justice system back to working order.
The profession is generally in a healthy state, with overall numbers increasing to nearly 18,000 and with over 650 pupillages on offer in 2024. We were pleased to see the Conservative Party manifesto support our proposal for government to match-fund 100 additional criminal law pupillages and we hope the new government will do this.
The National Audit Office (NAO) report Reducing the backlog in the Crown Court published in May identified that the Crown Court backlog is at its highest ever level. In addition, prison governors have been warned that jails will be so overcrowded they will struggle to accept any more inmates by mid-July. These are just some of the acute symptoms of a failing system.
We would like to see the new government take a long-term whole system approach and that is why we are calling for a Royal Commission on the criminal justice system. Underpinning any reform should be the principle that serious crimes in the Crown Court have a trial start date within six months of the first hearing. The failures in timeliness undermine the effectiveness of necessary incentives in the system, specifically discounts to sentence to encourage guilty defendants to plead guilty early, which saves money both in terms of the trial process itself and shorter prison sentences. It also means that victims and witnesses are relieved of the traumatic experience of giving evidence, and a guilty plea is also the first step on the road to rehabilitation for the guilty defendant.
The new government should also take action to reverse the tragic evisceration of the early legal advice sector. The Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF) has identified the multiples of savings to the public purse that easily accessible and trusted early legal advice can bring compared to the cost. The Bar Council wants to see the scope of legal aid eligibility expanded across civil, family and criminal law.
A new approach must be taken by all politicians when it comes to the language they use about lawyers and judges. The new government should champion the rule of law and respect the separation of powers, rather than undermine trust and confidence in the justice system both at home and abroad.
Lastly, we want to see some of the draft legislation, parked when the general election was called, return in the King’s Speech. This could include, for example, both the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill and the Arbitration Bill.
The UK should have a functioning justice system, one that will ensure public safety, deliver justice and expand the reach of our legal services abroad. A restored justice system with demonstrable adherence to the rule of law by all parts of the state would result in the UK once again being a highly regarded example of law and justice for the rest of the world.
Sam Townend KC is Chair of the Bar 2024. Sam is a silk at Keating Chambers and practises in domestic and international construction, energy and professional negligence work. He is a mediator and adjudicator, and a Bencher at Lincoln's Inn.
At our Bar Conference in June, delegates voted for two issues from the Bar Council’s Manifesto for justice 2024 as their top priorities for the next government: first, the government should uphold, respect and promote the rule of law, and secondly, the government should ensure access to justice by widening the scope of legal aid eligibility.
Our manifesto sets out an eight-point plan under three themes: a strong, effective and properly funded justice system, access to justice, and upholding the rule of law. The election of the new government provides a fresh start and opportunity to restore this most fundamental of public services, the justice system.
The International Bar Association’s (IBA’s) report recently issued on the social and economic impact of the legal profession shows the positive economic impact of the legal profession globally: legal services employ approximately 20 million professionals and create an additional 14 million jobs related to legal work. The legal profession represents 0.25% of the world’s population and generates approximately 1.7% of the world’s GDP.
Legal services contribute increasing sums to the UK economy and it represents the second largest legal market in the world (10% of the global market). The legal sector contributes to the UK net exports of £5.7 billion including £0.5 billion by the Bar itself.
Here in the UK, justice has often been the forgotten public service and it receives just 1% of total government spending. In real terms per person, spending on justice has fallen by 22% since 2009/10. Every part of the justice system that relies on government support and public funding is in a parlous state. That is why we need urgent investment and why the Bar Council is calling for new investment of around £2.5 billion per year (less than a quarter of 1% of public spending) to bring the whole of the courts and publicly funded justice system back to working order.
The profession is generally in a healthy state, with overall numbers increasing to nearly 18,000 and with over 650 pupillages on offer in 2024. We were pleased to see the Conservative Party manifesto support our proposal for government to match-fund 100 additional criminal law pupillages and we hope the new government will do this.
The National Audit Office (NAO) report Reducing the backlog in the Crown Court published in May identified that the Crown Court backlog is at its highest ever level. In addition, prison governors have been warned that jails will be so overcrowded they will struggle to accept any more inmates by mid-July. These are just some of the acute symptoms of a failing system.
We would like to see the new government take a long-term whole system approach and that is why we are calling for a Royal Commission on the criminal justice system. Underpinning any reform should be the principle that serious crimes in the Crown Court have a trial start date within six months of the first hearing. The failures in timeliness undermine the effectiveness of necessary incentives in the system, specifically discounts to sentence to encourage guilty defendants to plead guilty early, which saves money both in terms of the trial process itself and shorter prison sentences. It also means that victims and witnesses are relieved of the traumatic experience of giving evidence, and a guilty plea is also the first step on the road to rehabilitation for the guilty defendant.
The new government should also take action to reverse the tragic evisceration of the early legal advice sector. The Access to Justice Foundation (ATJF) has identified the multiples of savings to the public purse that easily accessible and trusted early legal advice can bring compared to the cost. The Bar Council wants to see the scope of legal aid eligibility expanded across civil, family and criminal law.
A new approach must be taken by all politicians when it comes to the language they use about lawyers and judges. The new government should champion the rule of law and respect the separation of powers, rather than undermine trust and confidence in the justice system both at home and abroad.
Lastly, we want to see some of the draft legislation, parked when the general election was called, return in the King’s Speech. This could include, for example, both the Litigation Funding Agreements (Enforceability) Bill and the Arbitration Bill.
The UK should have a functioning justice system, one that will ensure public safety, deliver justice and expand the reach of our legal services abroad. A restored justice system with demonstrable adherence to the rule of law by all parts of the state would result in the UK once again being a highly regarded example of law and justice for the rest of the world.
The beginning of the legal year offers the opportunity for a renewed commitment to justice and the rule of law both at home and abroad
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