At a meeting of the Bar Council of England and Wales on 25th April 2023, the agenda included an item to debate the ongoing importance of the cab rank rule for barristers and its role in promoting access to justice and the rule of law. The item was prompted by our Declaration of Conscience.
LAR submitted a response to the Bar Council debate that set out why we:
(a) agree with the importance of the cab rank rule as a mechanism for ensuring access to justice;
(b) welcome the opportunity to engage in discussion and debate with the Bar Council on matters of professional ethics in the context of the existential threat posed by the climate and ecological crises, which is killing people and without appropriate action will kill many, many more people; and
(c) consider the narrowly defined area in which we refuse to offer legal services as a matter of conscience is proportionate and justified.
You can read our response here: