Review of standard of proof for barristers' professional misconduct

Barristers accused of professional misconduct could be prosecuted with a lower standard of proof, under new regulatory proposals.

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) published a consultation this week, R eview of the Standard of Proof Applied in Professional Misconduct Proceedings , proposing lowering the standard of proof at disciplinary hearings for professional misconduct from the current criminal standard of ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ to the civil standard of ‘on the balance of probabilities’.

Switching to the civil standard would bring the Bar in line with the rest of the legal profession and most other professions—the BSB and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons are currently the only professional regulators applying the criminal standard. While the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal applies the criminal standard, it is not an approved regulator and considers itself bound by case law to continue applying the criminal standard.

The consultation closes on 21 July.