A delegation from the Bar Council of England and Wales has been in Mexico this week attending the annual International Bar Association (IBA) conference.
The Chair of the Bar Council was a speaker on a panel at the Forum for Barristers and Advocates event entitled: The cost of everything but the value of nothing - what goes wrong when governments starve the justice system of funding?
Sam Townend KC said: "The justice system is the part of English and Welsh public services that has been cut the most over the last 14 years. Public funding for justice administration - including costs of prosecution, courts, legal aid, prisons and probation together - have declined by 22.4% in real per person terms since 2010. Legal aid spending has been cut more than any constituent part - an astonishing 39.5% in real per person terms. No wonder our vigorous tabloid press no longer talk about ‘fat cat’ legal aid lawyers."
"Underfunding has resulted in record backlogs and delays in all jurisdictions of the court, with all the consequences that has for access to legal rights and justice. There are not enough prison spaces and not enough advocates prepared to do the cases at the low legal aid rates. Last year 1 in 20 Crown Court trials, over 1,400, were abortive because no barrister could be found to act for the prosecution or the defence or both. This almost never happened just six years ago.
"This is nothing short of a catastrophe for everyone involved, the alleged victim, witnesses, families, defendants, the courts and prosecution services and, of course, the taxpayer. It is an obvious waste of money and utterly sapping of participants’ and the public’s confidence in the justice system."
The photo left to right includes: Dominique Hogan-Doran SC from the Australian Bar and vice chair of the Bar Issues Commission Regulation Committee; Hon Justice Mark Livesey, President of the Court of Appeal in South Australia and the senior vice chair of the Judges' Forum; Sanne Van Oers, chair of the Netherlands Bar, Sam Townend KC, chair of the Bar Council of England and Wales; Sara Phelan SC from the Bar of Ireland and chair of the Forum for Barristers and Advocates.
Download Sam's speech:
The Bar Council delegation also met with the barristers from England and Wales attending the conference.
Chair of the Bar Council Sam Townend KC has been elected to be the new chair of the International Bar Association’s Forum of Barristers and Advocates, for 2025 and 2026.
Sam Townend KC said: “I am delighted to be elected to chair the IBA’s forum for barristers and advocates, the forum is the global voice of the over 30,000 referral barristers and advocates worldwide.
"While we are a minority of lawyers of the IBA, representing the specialist advocates of just eight jurisdictions, I will seek to ensure we are heard on topical issues such as protection of the ‘cab rank’ rule and lawyers as ethical gatekeepers. Particular characteristics of the referral bar, such as independence and duty to the court, need to be argued for.”
The British Embassy in Mexico City hosted a series of networking events this week to bolster connections between the UK legal sector and global partners to highlight the UK government’s commitment to driving economic growth through legal services exports.
Justice Minister, Heidi Alexander, said: "I’m proud of our legal services’ world-leading reputation. These networking events allow us to share our expertise with others and learn from them to maintain our competitive edge. Importantly, promoting the UK’s legal sector abroad helps build connections and ultimately bring investment back to the UK."
Overall the UK’s legal sector generates billions for the UK economy with the latest figures showing it contributed £34 billion in 2022.
Read the government's press release.