Legal Reform - Will the Legal Authority be independent?

[Brendan Burgess]

This seems to be an issue which is worrying the legal profession as explained in this letter to the Irish Times

Independence of new legal authority




Sir, – After a perusal of the Legal Services Bill 2011, it seems that the provisions guaranteeing the independence of the new legal services regulatory authority from the Minister of Justice resemble a fig leaf on a eunuch.


How can a body possibly be independent of the person who appoints its members, and to whom it reports? The State dominates litigation in Ireland, and many barristers and solicitors make their living from exposing the deficiencies of the State in how it treats its citizens. It is often poorly paid, stressful and thankless work.


Are these practitioners then, to have their professional lives regulated by the entity they so frequently meet in acrimony in the courtroom?
Nor do I see any mention in the Bill of the Government introducing proper procurement for State legal services, as recommended by the Public Accounts Committee in February.


Patronage is a powerful political tool. If the Government wishes to increase competition in the professions, perhaps it should take its own medicine and cede its substantial influence over the distribution of legal work to fair competition in the interests of transparency, the taxpayer, and indeed, most practitioners. – Yours, etc,


Dr NEIL MADDOX,
Barrister-at-law,
Lecturer in Law,

 

[Brendan Burgess]

The problem with this is that someone must regulate the professions.

The government is compromised as it's a big customer.

But the professions themselves are much more seriously compromised.

The courts could regulate the professions, but this would not be independent either.

This is how the Minister proposes to guarantee its independence
· It has a lay majority of members and a lay chairperson;
· The legal profession has a minority representation on the Authority, with 2 representatives from each branch of the legal profession;
· It is accountable to Dáil Éireann (e.g its Committees) in its own right;
· It must follow standards of sound and transparent governance by preparing strategic and business plans, reporting annually, and following proper accounting standards subject to audit;
· It must keep the public informed of its role, and their rights and remedies.


What happens in other countries?