Monday Message 25.11.24
In her introduction to the Crown Court Compendium in July 2024, our Lady Chief Justice, Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, wrote that “Judges also need to remember that advocates have lives (and obligations) outside of the trial. Judges and advocates work hard to ensure that justice is delivered fairly and efficiently, but this must not be at too great a cost; judges must keep their own welfare and the welfare of all those who work in the courts in mind when seeking to meet the challenges that exist in terms of backlogs and timeliness.”
Criminal barristers do have lives and obligations outside of the trial process. The increasing delays within the criminal justice system and the limited number of Crown Court sitting days increases the challenges even further. We must, as a profession, keep our own welfare in mind.
Most research suggests that the maximum hours that can be worked for optimum productivity and health is 50 hours per week. Productivity falls sharply after this and drops even further after 55 hours a week. Not taking at least one full day off per week leads to lower hourly output overall. The World Health Organisation has found that working an average of 55 hours or more each week as compared to 35-40 hours increases your risk of stroke by 35% and your risk of dying from heart disease by 17%. Internationally, according to the WHO, three quarters of a million people are dying from ischaemic heart disease and stroke due to over-work every year. They recommend six weeks holiday per year. They advise us that those working overly long hours sleep little, barely exercise, eat unhealthy foods and smoke or drink to cope with stress.
The working time directive does not permit working more that an average of 48 hours per week. It suggests that you may have to work longer than that in the armed forces, emergency services or the police. Key workers.
Criminal barristers are key workers. The average Criminal barrister could only dream of working as little as 48 hours a week and the hours that we are being forced to work to prop up a crumbling system are increasing to the extent that exhaustion and burnout are all too common. The reason that we have worked at this level is to try to minimise the additional trauma to all complainants and accused persons in the criminal justice system of yet another adjourned trial. Many criminal barristers wake early from a disturbed sleep, do some preparation before leaving home, travel to court, work all day, undertake a conference at lunch time or just after court, travel home and work late into the evening preparing work for the next day. Many only take one day off per week, utilising one precious day of family time on paperwork. We mourn our colleagues who have passed away too young and sympathise with their families and friends. We work tirelessly to speak up for our clients, but we often remain silent about our own needs and thoughts.
We are incredibly proud of the dedicated, skilled criminal barristers in England and Wales who ensure that the vital public service of criminal justice can be delivered but our numbers are decreasing and will decrease further without significant investment which reflects the many hours of unpaid work that we undertake to keep the court system moving.
The CBA has developed a Wellbeing Protocol which has been trialled on the South Eastern Circuit. Under the guidance of Jonathan Higgs KC, the Wellbeing Committee of Szilvia Booker, Nigel Edwards KC, Fiona McAddy, Grace Ong, Sam Stein KC, Diana Wilson and Gerwyn Wise will roll this Protocol out nationally to try to retain the criminal barristers that we have and to recruit new ones.
We hope that all other court users and agencies will recognise and support this essential scheme.
Annual Report of the MOJ
The Annual Report of the MOJ for 2023-2024 has been published.
The stated aims of the MOJ within the Annual Report and Accounts of the MOJ 2024 are to protect the public from serious offenders, improve the safety and security of prisons, to reduce offending and to deliver swift access to justice. It will be a matter for the public to determine if any or all of those aims have been met.
The report states that “Justice is a vital public service relied on directly by citizens, including victims, families and businesses. It underpins the operation of both society and the economy in our country. Throughout 2023-24 we delivered this through increasing the number of Crown Court sitting days to over 107,000, exceeding our ambition for the number of adult rape cases progressing through the criminal justice system, improving victim’s experience of the criminal justice system ensuring that they have access to the support they need.”
We are delighted to read that the 96,000 people employed by the MOJ had a cost of living increase. We would like the same.
Rachel Sylvester, The Times, Saturday November 23rd
We are grateful to Rachel for taking the trouble to visit Crown Courts across the country, for watching how the average working day unfolds for criminal barristers and to report on it so that the very many members of the public who do not visit our courts can understand the reality of life at the criminal Bar in 2024.
We are grateful to Daniel Stevenson, Hannah Williams, Anna Soubry, Chloe Ashley, Jason Pitter KC, and Danielle Manson for giving up their precious time to speak with Rachel and help her to understand the stark reality of the work we do.
Evidence to the Senedd, Standards of Conduct Committee Inquiry
We extend our thanks to Jonathan Elystan Rees KC, Owen Edwards KC and Alexander Greenwood, our excellent Welsh representatives on the CBA Executive Committee, for preparing a paper on behalf of the Criminal Bar Association of England and Wales in response to a proposal made by the ICDR in respect of a White Paper which proposed legislation for the disqualification of politicians who are found guilty of deliberate deception by an independent judicial process.
We are grateful to Jonathan and Alex for taking time out of their exceptionally busy practices to meet with the Committee and to give evidence on behalf of the CBA. We are sure that the Committee benefited immensely from their collective experience and from the evidence that they gave. The Criminal Bar in Wales consists of a dedicated group of practitioners of whom we are incredibly proud.
The CBA Winter Conference
We look forward to welcoming our members to the CBA Winter Conference on Saturday 30th November 2024 at Inner Temple. The event begins at 0900 and concludes at 1645. It is followed by a drink’s reception.
We are delighted that HH Chris Kinch KC, the former Resident Judge at Woolwich Crown Court, has agreed to come and deliver our keynote speech. Topics will include human trafficking, protest offences, fraud, developments in criminal law and sentencing. Do please email Aaron Dolan if you wish to attend.
We are extremely grateful to our Education Committee for organising this tremendous event.
CBA Response to the Sentencing Consultation
Many thanks to Andrew Thomas KC and his team for the excellent response which has been drafted on behalf of the CBA to the Sentencing Consultation. We will publish our response next week.
Yours,
Mary Prior KC
Chair of The Criminal Bar Association.