You may or may not have already heard about an organisation called the General Council of the Bar, or better known as the Bar Council. This is a council that exists in Wales and in England and it is a professional council of barristers. Now that you know what the Bar Council is, what does it do and why should you know about it?

There are 115 members of the Bar Council and the membership meets roughly 7 times per year. The 115 members of the Council are barristers who are either elected or who represent the Circuits, Inns and other groups with common interests.

In 1894 the bar Council was formed. This council arose due to the need for representation for or barristers’ interests. The Council is the governing body of the Bar and as such it is their role to provide guidance and representation on issues regarding professional practices of barristers. The Council provides services such as publications, fees collections, and guidance. They also promote the interests of the Bar with Government, International Bars, the law Society, the EC and other organisations with the same interests.

Other roles and objectives of the Bar Council include the following.

Aside from representation and guidance, the Bar Council is responsible for maintaining and enhancing professional standards of the Bar. This is important as it improves the standards of quality of services rendered to clients across the board. In order to maintain service quality levels, the Council is tasked with maintaining effective procedures for complaints and disciplinary action.

The Council is in charge of regulating the training and education of barristers-to-be wanting to enter the profession. This ensures a uniform quality of training and education resulting in fair qualifications for the profession. Once barristers are qualified to enter the job market, it is the role of the Bar Council to regulate the entry of individuals into the profession as well as to develop a fair, effective and affordable system by which barristers are recruited.

The Bar Council has to see to it that there is no disadvantages or discrimination in the Bar and it is their job to promote and develop the Bar’s work. The Council is also charged with researching and promoting the views of the Bar about administration and justice. This includes substantive law reform.

As you can see, the Bar Council is tasked with keeping all well and fair in the Bar’s world. However, all this responsibility can be much for a single organisation. Thus, in 2006 the Bar Council divided its representational and regulatory functions. An offshoot organisation, the Bar Standards Board, was formed to handle the regulatory aspects while the Council continued with the representational aspects.

To keeps its workings transparent and to keep the Bar abreast with developments, the Bar Council produces a report annually. This report details their work, developments and strategies. Thus, all who are affected by the decisions of the Council can freely investigate their annual report to see what they have been up to and what they are planning for the future.

The legal profession is steeped in history and tradition and to try and put it into a few simple sentences is simply not possible. Those that are avid students of history know how far back the legal profession goes to the times of ancient Greece and Rome and more. The legal profession in the United Kingdom is a complex issue. Those that stand outside the profession most often find these complexities baffling. The beginnings of the General Council of the Bar, or as most people know it, the Bar Council can be traced back to the latter part of the 13^th and early part of the 14^th century. During this time  a Common Bench was established at Westminster when lawyers took over the inner and middle temples from the Order of Knights Templar. From the time of the 17^th century the right to practice at the Royal Courts as an advocate was restricted to members of the Inns. The Inns referred to are the four Inns of Court, being Inner Temple, Middle Temple, Gray’s Inn and Lincoln’s Inn. It is mandatory for anyone that wishes to train for the Bar to join one of the four Inns.

Since the reign of Edward I, discipline over the Bar has rested with the judges and such discipline was carried out in practice by the benches of the Inns. This was done under the visitorial jurisdiction of the judges. In 1894 the Bar Council was forms and it was the task of the council to deal with all matters pertaining to professional etiquette. The governing body of the Inns and the Bar Council combined in 1974, forming the Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar. This was once again changed in 1987 when a separate Council of the Inns of Court was established. In 1990 the Legal Services Act designated the Bar Council to be the authorised body for the legal profession.

The Bar Council has representational responsibilities that are far ranging and include relations with government, legal professions in other countries and the European Union. The Bar Council sees to the administration of justice. It also forms relations with other organisations that have a common interest. It is the task of the Council to participate in law reform consultation and it takes part in the negotiations of publicly funded fees. To enable the Bar Council to fulfil all these tasks successfully there are more than 200 barristers that bring their efforts together in serving on various committees.

The General Council of the Bar for England and Wales represents the Bar through a clear mission statement whereby they promote the advisory services and specialist advocacy of barristers. They ensure that access to justice is done on fair terms to practitioners and the public and they work for the cost-effective and competent administration of justice. The Bar Council encourages access to the profession for people of all backgrounds that have the ability, through diversity from within. The Council ensures the highest standards of ethical behaviour and practices through the promotion of professional development and top quality training of barristers. Lastly, the Bar Council strives to strengthen the values and develop the work of the Bar both at home and also abroad.