Reference.
467/693/1
اس
Mr. Rushford
Sir James McPetrie has asked me to pass these papers through you to him as he would welcome your comments on the Hong Kong proposal for establishing an Inn of Court in Hong Kong. The description in the Hong Kong saving despatch of the procedure followed here in respect of professional misconduct on the part of barristers is out of date.
2. In 1966 the four Inns of Court, by a resolution passed by each Inn, set up a Senate of the four Inns to take over, amongst other matters, the disciplining of barristers. The Senate consists of a President, the Treasurer of the Inns, the Chairman of the Bar Council, the Attorney-General, six representatives appointed by the benches of each Inn and six representatives appointed by the Bar Council. Under the regulations of the Senate a committee is established to hear charges of professional misconduct against barristers and the regulations provide that the committee may include a judge of the Supreme Court but otherwise shall consist of practising barristers who are members of the Senate. The power to discipline barristers is delegated by the judges of the Supreme Court. The Judges of the Supreme Court are visitors of the Inns of Court to whom appeals lie against disciplinary decisions. The present procedure in England is well described in the decision of Paul J. in the case of In re S. (a barrister) (1969) 2 WLR at psge 708 (copy attached).
3. It seems to me the Hong Kong proposals are rather grandiose for a bar consisting of 40 barristers; I would have thought it unlikely that the number of barristers would substantially increase above this number. However, if the Hong Kong Government desire that some form of Inn of Court should be incorporated by Royal Charter I see no objection to such a course of action; but certain inconvenience follows from utilising this method of incorporation if it should be necessary at some later stage to amend the constitution of the Inn of Court.
4. Whether it would be permissible to call the Inn "the Queen's Inn" can, I presume, only be ascertained by writing to Her Majesty's Private Secretary.
5. Personally I see no need to consult the Lord Chancellor, or that any purpose would be served by doing so.
6. As regards the proposals for the constitution of the Inn I would point out that none of the present judges in Hong Kong are members of the Hong Kong bar, whereas in the U.K. all judges are members of one or other of the four Inns.. Further, if all the judges are to be on the Governi body it means that they will have control by reason of their numbers, which would defeat the object of the exercise, namely that the members of the Bar should exercise jurisdiction over admission and conduct of their colleagues.
af fratten Baller
(Sir A. Grattan-Bellew)
W 44/2
6 July, 1970