three special Working Parties charged with assembling material for consideration, the Steering Committee which put the draft together, the Criminal Justice Committee, and finally the Council. We took the opportunity for a wide-ranging review. Where possible, we based our evidence on published JUSTICE reports, but we also had to make up our minds on several questions we had not considered before. We should like to thank very warmly all those who contributed to the task of preparation, and who enabled our evidence to be submitted so promptly.
We intend to publish our Memorandum of Evidence shortly in the form of a JUSTICE report.* Meanwhile, the following were the most important of our conclusions and recommendations:
1. The continued existence of an independent legal profession is an essential condition for the maintenance of the Rule of Law and the protection of human rights. Independence means the ability to represent, press and advocate a client's case without any limitations other than those set by the demands of justice and integrity.
2. Our system of law, centred as it is on the rights and duties of individuals, is sound; what is needed are better means to ensure that those rights are known, perceived and understood, and better access to the procedures for enforcing them.
3. We were unable to agree about "total fusion". A few of us were in favour: most of us were against. But some of us, while taking the view that a separate Bar conferred substantial benefits on the public, thought there was a case for gradual "convergence” between the functions of the two branches of the profession. 4. Subject to some important safeguards, there would be substantial advantages in concentrating all Government responsibilities for the state of the law, the administration of justice, and legal services, in a single Department of Justice headed by the Lord Chancellor.
5. Legal Aid should be available for all contentious matters before civil courts, criminal courts, or administrative tribunals; better provisions should be made for the trial of small claims; a Suitor's Fund should be set up to pay the cost of appeals where the original winner loses; a Contingency Legal Aid Fund should be considered; and there should be a single Advisory Committee to advise both the Home Secretary and the Lord Chancellor on criminal as well as civil legal aid.
6. There is a case for some minority lay representation (without voting power) on the profession's governing bodies; and a single Legal Professional Advisory Committee, composed of both lawyers and laymen, should advise the profession and the Lord Chancellor.
7. Subject to certain safeguards, barristers should be allowed to enter into partnership with each other, and to promote themselves to leading counsel, leaving the title "Queen's Counsel" as an honour in the Lord Chancellor's gift.
* At £1.50 (members at £1.10 including postage.)
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