Judge says government should not appoint QCs

One of the country's most senior judges has called for an end to the Government's role in the appointment of QCs, which she says creates the perception of bias and undermines the independence of barristers and the judiciary.

In an unprecedented and outspoken speech, Lady Justice Hale, a Court of Appeal judge, said ministers should have no involvement in the system of awarding "silk" to a select group of senior barristers and solicitors each year.

A record number of lawyers were appointed to the rank of QC this year by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine of Lairg.

Lady Justice Hale said: "The fact remains that the public looks up to silks and respects their opinions. But they can easily be forgiven for thinking that instructing silk brings with it advantages not entirely related to the quality of work done or arguments deployed.

"What is a profession, a large part of whose function is to stand up against the state, doing when it looks to government for preferment?" she asked.

No other profession, apart from perhaps the higher ranks of the Church of England, allowed the Government to regulate a system for choosing and appointing their "stars", she said.

In a speech to barristers at their annual conference in London over the weekend, Lady Justice Hale added: "Think of the effect of the front row [in court], the close and confidential relationship it appears to create between Bench and Bar, which must reinforce the disadvantage felt by a litigant who is unable to afford a silk."

The former Law Commissioner said none of her comments were intended as criticism of the Government or any of the officials involved in the selection process. But she hoped that the independent inquiry, set up by Lord Irvine last year, into the consultation process for the appointment of QCs and judges would lead to practical changes in the appointments system.

One of the complaints raised in that inquiry, headed by Sir Colin Campbell, the first commissioner for judicial appointments, was that the consultation process, or "secret soundings", had led to comments, from barristers and judges, that applicants were "not in the mould of QC".

But Lady Justice Hale said that rather than count against an individual applicant, such a comment should be treated as an attribute. She said it was also important to ensure that the perceived link between becoming a silk and then becoming a judge was "disavowed".

* The UN special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Dato Param Cumaraswamy, warned the conference that the British Government's plans to reform the criminal justice system signal the end of trial by jury.

But Lord Falconer, a Home Office minister, said later that nothing he heard made him think the Government needed to rethink its proposals on jury trial.