Barristers should receive the same recognition as nurses, doctors and teachers for their work as public servants, a lawyers’ leader said today.
Bar chairman Geoffrey Vos QC insisted that “perhaps half� of barristers worked for relatively modest fees and were “in no sense fat cats�.
He added that they played a “vital role� in society.
In his speech to the annual Bar Conference in west London, Mr Vos also warned that it would be a “calamitous folly� for Britain to withdraw from European human rights laws, as Opposition leader David Cameron has pledged will happen under the next Tory government.
Mr Vos said: “Perhaps 50% of barristers undertake publicly-funded criminal defence or prosecution, family, immigration or administrative work in return for relatively modest fees.
“They are in no sense fat cats.
“They should be recognised by society as valuable and valued public servants, for that is what they are.�
He added: “Indeed, I suggest that the publicly-funded Bar is essential to the fabric of our criminal and family justice system.
“That justice system underpins our society. It makes it safe and secure.
“A strong, dependable justice system in which the public have confidence is essential to the peace and security of a state espousing the rule of law.
“If publicly funded lawyers were to be more openly accepted, in Government rhetoric, for the public servants they are - alongside doctors, nurses, lawyers and teachers, it would lift the confidence of the profession more than I can explain.�
On human rights, the chairman said Western governments must address their own affairs before lecturing countries in the developing world.
“We can only hope seriously to promote human rights and the Rule of Law in the developing nations if we first look critically at our own record,� he said.
“Muslim countries are not impressed with being told that they should adhere to the democratic principles of human rights and the rule of law by a nation that interns people without trial in
Guantanamo Bay,� he said.
“Of course the United States like any other nation has a right to balance the need to protect its citizens against the strictest adherence to the rule of law.
“But it cannot claim that it is universally thought that it has got the balance right.�
He welcomed Justice Secretary Jack Straw’s signals that the Government will put forward a new Bill of Rights and Responsibilities to sit alongside the Human Rights Act.
“It would be an act of calamitous folly for us as a nation to withdraw from the European Convention on Human Rights, which I believe underpins our authority in contributing to the world rule of law movement,� Mr Vos said.
“However good the new Bill of Rights proposed by David Cameron might prove to be, I am not sure that it could give the international community the confidence that is provided by our adherence to the ECHR.�
Mr Vos will also announce progress made by the Bar Council to widen access to the profession to promising students from less privileged backgrounds - an issue he has prioritised during his tenure as chairman.
Mr Vos has said the rich, privately-educated classes are disproportionately represented among the Bar.
“This summer we provided a structured internship in chambers for 26 school students,� he said.
“The results were spectacular and inspiring. The students visibly grew in stature and confidence as the week progressed.�
A Conservative spokesman said: “We do not advocate pulling out of the ECHR. We would scrap Labour’s Human Rights Act and replace it with a British Bill of Rights.
“This is a policy we announced some time ago. The fact the Government are belatedly trying to copy it shows we continue to win the battle of ideas.�