Bar Council hears case for abolition of law lords

Barristers are being asked to back a campaign for a new American-style supreme court to replace the House of Lords as Britain's highest court.

The Bar Council is expected to begin lobbying for the abolition of the Lords' judicial functions if a motion to the annual meeting of the Bar is accepted today. The motion, put forward by two QCs, follows a call earlier this year from the senior law lord, Lord Bingham of Cornhill, for an independent supreme court to be established.

There is concern within the legal community about the clash between law lords' roles as judges and law makers in Parliament. Even more serious, critics say, is the potential for political interference in judicial decisions, which is created by the Lord Chancellor's role as a law lord and a party politician.

Robin Allen QC, the proposer of the motion, said the highest judicial authority should not be part of the legislature. "This is unlike any other modern supreme court, and conveys completely the wrong message to litigants," he said. "It's absurd that the judgments of the supreme court are given by way of speeches in the body of the House of Lords."

Lord Irvine of Lairg, the Lord Chancellor, opposes the move.