Barristers strike in appeal to halt ‘near collapse’ of justice system
BARRISTERS are to go on strike in protest at the “collapsing” criminal justice system. Court proceedings across the country face massive disruption next week as some lawyers will refuse to take on new cases and stage walkouts.
Leading legal chambers Doughty Street, Garden Row and 25 Bedford Row are among those set to take part.
It comes after the Criminal Bar Association (CBA) warned that prisons, courts, the police and probation services are “underfunded and in chaos”.
Angela Rafferty QC, its chairman, said “relentless cuts” have resulted in “near collapse” of the justice system. “You cannot have a national asset and treat it like this,” she added.
She said under-funding means cases are not being properly investigated by the police and CPS, there is uncertainty and delay at court and “unnecessary distress” for witnesses, victims and defendants. “Meanwhile the poor and vulnerable in society are being denied access to justice,” she added. “The system is desperate, it cannot endure any more cuts.”
The recent disclosure crisis, which led to the collapse of a number of rape trials last year, has also highlighted “the appalling state of our system,” a CBA spokesman said. “Criminal barristers are the ones who have to pick up the pieces and are not being paid for the disclosure work which stops people going to prison,” he said.
The CBA has advised its 4,000 members to take action after 90 per cent voted in favour, with a turnout of around 55 per cent. According to a survey by the General Council of the Bar, more than a third of criminal barristers said they are considering leaving the profession. A spokesman for the Bar Council said: “The Ministry of Justice budget has been slashed across the board in the last decade.
“The effects, in every area, are becoming ever clearer: courts and prisons in a deplorable state of repair, leading to unacceptable conditions, litigants struggling to deal with their own cases without legal help in the most trying of circumstances, overloaded courts and judges, increasing delays and judicial morale at rock bottom, to
‘The Ministry of Justice budget has been slashed across the board in the last decade’
name but a few. While the current investment in the court reform programme is substantial, it cannot hope to reverse all of the harm that has already been done, and continues to be done, and its focus is really elsewhere.”
The planned strike is a reaction to the Advocates’ Graduated Fee Scheme, due to come into force on April 1.
A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: “We are extremely disappointed with the position the Criminal Bar Association has taken today, especially given that they and other members of the bar participated fully in the design of the scheme. Our reforms will reflect the actual work done in court, representing better value for the taxpayer, and will replace an archaic scheme under which barristers were able to bill by pages of evidence.”