§ Mr. BatisteTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department when a decision will be made by the Crown Prosecution Office as to extended right of audience. [42097]
Mr. John M. TaylorThe Law Society's application to be authorised to award qualifications for rights of audience in the higher courts to employed solicitors is under consideration in accordance with the procedure set out in the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. There is a related application by the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Treasury Solicitor to have rule 402(1)(c) of the Bar's code of conduct deemed not to have been approved under the provisions of s31(1)(b) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. This is the rule which restricts employed barristers rights of audience.
The Lord Chancellor and the designated judges announced that they would adjourn their consideration of this related application until they had considered the advice from the Lord Chancellor's advisory committee on legal education and conduct on the Law Society's application. The Lord Chancellor has recently received ACLEC's advice and this is being considered together with other representations. The Lord Chancellor and the designated judges will make an announcement in due course.