The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has formally asked Queen’s Counsel Appointments (QCA), the independent selection panel for QCs, to consider developing a system of re-accrediting criminal silks.
Oliver Hanmer, the BSB’s director of supervision, says: “As the barristers’ regulator it is our job to set up systems that safeguard clients from those advocates who are simply not as good as they should be, no matter their level of experience.
“We are resolutely committed to achieving this aim. While we firmly believe it is not in the public interest to exempt QCs from quality assurance, we think QCA—should they accept our request—may be better placed than we are to deliver this process.”
In January, the BSB said it would explore ways to protect the public from poor standards of advocacy.
