§ Lord Kennetasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they will spell out the "first principles" to which the Lord Chancellor referred in his Answer of 2nd March 1989 (HL Deb. cols. 1249–50).
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Mackay of Clashfern)In this context, "first principles" means that the analysis of the work and organisation of the legal profession starts from the proposition that the right question to ask is: what sort of legal profession is required in order to provide the best possible access to legal services of the right quality for the particular needs of the client. For example, in relation to the question of rights of advocacy in the higher courts, what is required for a person to be an advocate; and once this question is answered, the rights of audience in the higher courts should be given to any person who has these requirements.