Neale: BSB strongly supports the cab-rank rule
The Bar Standards Board’s (BSB) controversial proposal for new equality rules will not affect the cab-rank rule and will not lead to quotas, its director general said yesterday.
Mark Neale made the comments at the BSB board meeting in London, saying he wanted to “allay misgivings” that had been expressed in response to the consultation issued by the regulator earlier this month.
As we have been reporting, the consultation has already attracted a lot of negative comment from barristers, with accusations that the BSB is engaged in “social engineering”.
The central proposal is to replace core duty 8, under which barristers “must not discriminate unlawfully against any person”, with a requirement to “act in a way that advances equality, diversity and inclusion” (EDI).
Mr Neale explained that “the key question” raised by the consultation was “what regulatory framework is going to promote a shared objective to enhance the diversity and inclusiveness of the profession”.
One of the criticisms is that the new duty could prevent barristers from representing people whose views conflict with EDI, contrary to the cab-rank rule.
Mr Neale said: “The new duty in no way cuts across the cab-rank rule, which remains in place. As a regulator, we have always been strongly supportive of the cab-rank rule and the principle that barristers should represent clients without discrimination and indeed should not themselves be identified with clients’ causes.”
Meanwhile, a letter issued this week by former justice minister Lord Wolfson and Andreas Gledhill KC said the proposals appeared to “anticipate the imposition of quotas in all but name”.
Mr Neale shot this down too: “There is no suggestion in the consultation, either explicit or implicit, that quotas should be imposed on chambers. There is nothing in the consultation that will lead to such an outcome.”
BSB chair Kathryn Stone stressed too that “contrary to [the views of] some out there, this is absolutely not a done deal”.
She went on: “As we have demonstrated previously at this board, we will listen very carefully to all the views that are submitted before recommending any action by our executive colleagues…
“A consultation is just that. We ask people for their views, we listen to their views and we make decisions based on the information we have.”
In a recent article for The Spectator, criminal barrister Matthew Scott said he had “little confidence that the board’s consultation process will prevent its adoption”.
BSB officials have said they are relaxed about the publicity the proposals have generated – indeed, they say they are pleased, given that many of its consultations attract low numbers of responses.
They have also pointed to the proposed duty’s similarity with the uncontroversial principle six of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s Standards & Regulations, which requires solicitors to act “in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion”.
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