Role of the BSB

The Bar Standards Board came into being in January 2006 when the regulatory and representative functions of the Bar Council were separated (in a similar exercise to that affecting the Law Society).? It now operates as an independent regulatory board of the Bar Council and acts in the public interest without being influenced by the Bar Council’s primary function of representing the interests of barristers.? Its primary function is to regulate those barristers who are called to the Bar in England and Wales and to ensure that the quality of service provided by them is maintained.? This is achieved through the setting of entry standards, continuing consumer care and by the enforcement of a code of conduct, further details of which can be found in the Bar Standards Board Code of Conduct section of this web site.

When it was established the Bar Standards Board took over most of the regulatory functions previously undertaken by the Bar Council.? These included:

• setting education and training requirements for those wishing to become a barrister;
• setting and monitoring training requirements for qualified barristers to ensure that their skills continue to be up to date;
• setting standards of conduct;
• monitoring? barristers to assure that their services are of an appropriate quality;
• dealing with complaints against barristers and, where necessary, taking disciplinary or other action.

The Bar Standards Board is made up of 15 people, eight of whom are barristers. To ensure independence, none of the Board members are members of the Bar Council or any serve on any of its representational committees.

The Bar Standards Board operates through five regulatory committees, dealing with :

• Complaints - carrying out investigation and then taking any necessary action against those who have either not provided an adequate service or are in breach of the Bar Standards Board Code of Conduct;
• Qualifications - applications from those wishing to become barristers who wish to be exempted from normal training requirements;
• Quality Assurance - monitoring standards and promoting professional excellence;
• Standards - the Code of Conduct and good practice guides
• Education and training - setting education and training standards both for those wishing to qualify and those who are qualified;