Bar admits QC selection system needs total reform
Barristers' leaders have made an unprecedented call for the Government to reform the ancient system of appointing QCs to make it fairer to women and ethnic minorities.
In a report given to ministers this week, the Bar urges changes to the "secret soundings" that have been used for more than a century to promote barristers to the rank of silk, as QCs are known.
The appointments system, in which judges and senior lawyers are asked to comment on the suitability of candidates, has been criticised by solicitors, the Office of Fair Trading and the Government's own independent review. But until now, the Bar, which represents 11,000 barristers in England and Wales, has resolutely defended this selection process.
Its report contends that there is a perception that the system puts women and ethnic minorities at a disadvantage. This is particularly so, the Bar says, because many of those consulted about appointments are white and male.
The report's authors, who include four QCs, suggest that this could be remedied by ensuring that those consulted are as "representative as possible of those who will know him or her best, not being exclusively white or male''.
But they acknowledge that a serious problem facing the profession is that women and ethnic minorities are less likely to apply to take silk than their white, male colleagues. "The Bar Council is concerned about this and will recommend elsewhere the steps it thinks could be taken to try to improve the position,'' the QCs say.
The report, the Bar's response to the Government's consultation document, mirrors many of the criticisms of the QC appointments system identified by Sir Colin Campbell in his independent review of the selection process published last month.
The Bar says: "It is apparent from the first annual report of the Commission for Judicial Appointments (led by Sir Colin) that, in relation to three unsuccessful applicants in the 2001 silk round, the commission was unable to conclude that they had been treated entirely fairly in the selection process.''
The Government's advice to consultees about the criteria for silk was "disregarded fairly frequently'' and the Bar was "much concerned about this failure'', the report says.
The Bar recommends the Government publish a clear description of the consultation process and the internal decision-making process that leads to the appointment to silk.
It also urges the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg, to restrict the number of people involved in the "secret soundings" process. In the report, the Bar Council offers to help the Lord Chancellor draw up a restricted list of judges and senior members of the profession. The response paper also makes clear that barristers are willing to give up the silk's privilege of sitting in the front row of the court, a right that has been challenged by the Law Society of England and Wales.
David Bean QC, the Bar chairman, said the system provided a "ready guide for those seeking a leading specialist in advocacy and advice".
He added: "Public confidence in the system is reflected in the frequent use of silks to lead inquiries into matters of public concern. Professional backing for it lies in the frequent instruction of leading counsel to handle difficult and complex cases." But he said that QCs still had to prove their value in a competitive market and those who "don't perform simply won't get the work''.