Bar Council renews warning to Peers over Criminal Justice and Im

The Bar Council, which represents over 15,000 barristers in England and Wales, has today urged Members of the House of Lords to oppose a key provision of the Criminal Justice and Immigration Bill, which is currently being considered in the Upper House.

The Bar Council remains very concerned about Clause 55, which proposes to extend the powers of non-legal Crown Prosecution Service staff (‘Designated Case Workers’ – DCWs) to conduct serious trials in magistrates’ courts.

The Bar Council has called on Peers to approve amendments first to ensure that the remit of DCWs is restricted to summary only offences which are non-imprisonable and, secondly, to ensure that DCWs are properly regulated.

Commenting on Clause 55, Bar Chairman Tim Dutton QC said: Over 90% of all criminal cases begin and end in the magistrates’ courts; it is vital that public confidence in the criminal justice system is not placed at risk. Using non-legally qualified lay people to conduct prosecutions in trials which could end in imprisonment could place the public’s confidence in doubt, and result in longer trials, more appeals and cost the taxpayer more money.

Mr Dutton added:‘At an earlier stage in the parliamentary debates on this measure, the Government recognised the need for DCWs to be properly supervised, suitably trained and externally regulated. We therefore support an amendment to Clause 55 which requires DCWs exercising extended rights of audience to be regulated by an approved regulator under the Legal Services Act 2007. It seems to us odd, to say the least, that having spent so much time last year considering a comprehensive new regulatory regime for the legal services sector, Parliament is now being asked merely to approve an informal arrangement.’

Julia Beer, Chair of the Young Barristers’ Committee, said of Clause 55: Young barristers remain very concerned about the deployment of DCWs for tasks for which they are not properly trained or prepared. The Young Barristers’ Committee supports amendments to Clause 55 as it is undoubtedly in the interests of justice that any extension of DCWs’ remit is expressly limited in statute to summary only non-imprisonable offences; and that any DCW prosecuting these types of offences is trained to an equivalent standard of a legally trained barrister or solicitor.’