§ Mr. Marlowasked the Attorney-General in which of the member States of the European Economic Community, and in which of the following countries: the United States of America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other European countries (a) conveyancing is invariably carried out by solicitors, (b) there is a division between solicitors and barristers enabling only the latter to handle the majority of court cases, (c) there is a requirement that a client employing a senior barrister in court must only employ a junior; and if his Department has made any study of the practices in the countries where these conditions are not applied, with a view to the application of relevant experience in this country.
The Attorney-GeneralThe law and practice with regard to these matters differs substantially from country to country and it is not possible to make direct comparisons. The position with regard to conveyancing and fusion in certain countries was considered by the Royal Commission on legal services in reaching its conclusions on conveyancing and fusion. The recommendations and information provided by the Royal Commission have been published—Cmnd. 7648—and section 7 of volume 2 contains comparative information relating to conveyancing in different countries. The recommendations and information provided by the Royal Commission on legal services are being carefully considered by my noble Friend and his Department.