BSB and top QC defend cab rank rule from LSB criticism

A report commissioned by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) has concluded that access to justice would be damaged if the Bar's 'cab rank' rule is abolished.

The cab rank rule obliges a barrister to take on any case, provided that it falls within her/his expertise and that she/he is available to work, no matter how unpalatable or apparently unwinnable the case may be. The cab rank rule has been branded irrelevant in a recent report commissioned by the Legal Services Board (LSB). However, the responding BSB report demonstrates that the rule ensures fair trials by guaranteeing that defendants have the chance to choose their own barristers, while it also helps protect barristers who defend unpopular clients from being stigmatised.

Meanwhile, at the Bar Council's request, the distinguished barrister Sir Sydney Kentridge QC has also written a paper which responds to the LSB's criticisms, defends the necessity of the cab rank rule and questions the credibility of the LSB report. Kentridge found evidence in the LSB paper of an irrational "hostility to the Bar" and criticised the use of "far-reaching conclusions based on selective quotation, flimsy evidence or no evidence at all - very far from what one would expect from senior academics doing serious research". He also rejected cynical criticisms of the Bar's ethical integrity, citing the cab rank rule as integral to treating members of the public who stand accused of a crime with fairness.

Chair of the BSB, Baroness Ruth Deech, said: "We commissioned an independent report to evaluate whether the rule was still relevant. The findings are clear: removing the cab rank principle would threaten access to justice. The independent report uncovered a body of evidence that showed the rule protects the interests of the consumer, not the barrister."