Practice Toolset

Is the creation of the new UK Supreme Court a triumph of form over substance? William East investigates 

With the new Supreme Court opening last month, and countless programmes, speeches and articles on the new-found separation of powers in the British constitution, the weary reader has had to endure rather a lot of Montesquieu. For it was this now rather better-known French philosopher who, in his essay The Spirit of Laws, is credited with outlining the principle of the separation of powers for the first time. A mere 261 years later, with the opening of the new court, we are said to have avoided the apocalyptic scenario in which: “There would be an end of everything, were the same man or the same body, whether of the nobles or of the people to exercise [the] three powers, that of enacting laws, that of executing the public resolutions, and of trying the causes of individuals.” 

Melissa Coutinho reports on the Employed Bar Conference.  

Hogarth’s painting of St Paul’s impassioned plea before Felix in the Old Hall at Lincoln’s Inn provided a fitting backdrop to the Employed Bar Conference on 21 July entitled “One Bar – thriving by Unity.” 

This year’s Young Bar Conference was as popular as ever. Alexander Learmonth rounds up the highlights.  

The Young Bar Conference is the highlight of the Young Barristers’ Committee’s  calendar and so it is fantastic that it remains so popular among barristers – and pupils – up to ten years’ Call. Thanks to the support of Circuits, many of which funded delegates’ costs, more than 200 barristers, pupils and Bar Vocational Course students attended the 2009 conference – held on Saturday, 3 October at London’s Hotel Russell – from all corners of the country: Newcastle, Leeds, Sheffield, Manchester, Cardiff and Bristol. And given sponsorship from commercial sponsors and several Specialist Bar Associations, delegates enjoyed 5 hours of accredited CPD, coffee, lunch and tea – all for £40. 

David Wurtzel provides a guided tour of inside the new building 

However much it cost, the Supreme Court building (formerly the Middlesex Guildhall) provides a splendid home for a new institution. Whether you are public, barristers, staff or the Justices, you can see where the money went. Those who knew it in its criminal court days will be glad that English Heritage insisted on retaining a substantial part of the interior. This includes the art nouveau light fittings, the tiled walls, some panelling and furniture and the paintings and sculpture. The latter have been cleaned and rearranged: the bust of the bon vivant Edward VII no longer greets you as you enter but now watches over the public canteen. 

Under the Circuit Diversity Mentor Scheme senior QCs are the first point of contact for barristers interested in applying for judicial appointments or Silk. Desmond Browne QC explains what is involved.  

The Circuit Diversity Mentor Scheme was launched last year by my predecessor, Tim Dutton QC. The aim was to encourage the widest and most diverse possible range of applicants for the judiciary and Silk and appointment to the Attorney General’s Civil Panels. It was strongly endorsed by the Judicial Appointments Commission (“JAC”) which has amongst its statutory objectives “the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for selection for appointment”. 

Debate on the future of the Human Rights Act 1998 (“HRA 1998”) illustrates a number of contemporary political themes.  

There is convergence – both Labour and the Conservatives invoke the spirit of the Glorious Revolution with arguments for a new Bill of Rights. There is divergence – in essence, Labour and the Liberal Democrats are for the HRA 1998 and the Conservatives against it – though all sides have their mavericks. There is an awful lot of confusion, if not wilful obfuscation. And, underneath the politics, there are, largely unacknowledged, constitutional principles that limit what can practically be done. 

Members of the Bar can enjoy many exclusive benefits provided by Member Services, an entirely self-funding department of the Bar Council which helps to offset the cost of representing the Bar through commercial activity. 

Member Services are committed to negotiating tailored goods and services for the Bar, often at preferential prices unavailable to the general public.   Our Service Partners offer high quality services at best-value prices through high standards of customer care. Service Partners are selected on the basis of excellent service, an understanding of the Bar’s needs and a commitment to providing tailored services, often with substantial exclusive discounts. Wherever you see this logo, you can be assured that the organisation has signed up to this commitment. http://www.barcouncil.org.uk/for-the-bar/explore-member-benefits/ 

Vivian Robinson QC explains why, after a successful career at the criminal Bar working for both sides of the fence of the Serious Fraud Office, he has joined the organisation as the first General Counsel 

How has the advocacy strategy deployed by the CPS been working in practice in the Crown Court? David Wurtzel investigates.  

In 2004 the new Director of Public Prosecutions, Sir Ken MacDonald, launched an advocacy strategy vision in which the Crown Prosecution Service (“CPS”) was to become “an organisation that routinely conducts its own high quality advocacy in all courts, efficiently and effectively”. In that first year, Crown advocates conducted 7,433 sessions; in 2008−09 it was 56,519 sessions including 8,401 trials. The aim was to achieve 25 per cent of the cost of advocacy-in-house by 2011; it is now 21.3 per cent. 

The Treasury Solicitor’s Department dispels the myths surrounding appointment to the Attorney General’s Civil Panels.  

The Attorney General maintains (by means of an open advertisement and application process) four panels of junior counsel to undertake civil and EU work for all government departments. She has three London panels and a regional panel.