The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has issued a consultation document seeking views on proposed changes to widen its powers to protect the public. The proposed changes include giving Disciplinary Tribunals the power to impose interim restrictions on a barrister’s practising certificate and extending the BSB’s power to refer a person to an interim suspension panel.
The BSB believes that there may be strong public interest reasons in certain cases to take interim action to stop a barrister from continuing to practise where there is a potential threat to the wider public but not necessarily to a barrister’s clients. The full consultation document is available on the BSB’s website.