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QASA judicial review claim defeated
The High Court has ruled against four criminal barristers who challenged the proposed quality assurance scheme for advocates (QASA) in R (1) Lumsdon (2) Taylor (3) Howker QC (4) Hewertson v Legal Services Board and (1) General Council of the Bar (acting by the Bar Standards Board) (2) Solicitors Regulation Authority (3) ILEX Professional Standards (interested parties) [2014] EWHC 28 (Admin), 20 January 2014. The claimants, who brought the case with the backing of the Criminal Bar Association (CBA), opposed the central role judges would play in the planned QASA process and that the scheme breaches article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights by failing to provide adequate appeal rights and was a disproportionate means of achieving its objectives as there was no evidence of a need for it (see December 2013/January 2014 Legal Action 3 and 4).
The court concluded that ‘there is a low risk that judicial independence would be challenged by the scheme arrangements’ (para 51). The court also ruled that the scheme did not ‘contravene European law and falls well within the legitimate exercise of the powers of the [Legal Services Board (LSB)] and the three regulators that submitted it to the LSB for approval’ (para 135).