The Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Commencement No. 7 and Saving and Consequential Provisions) Order 2013

Made: 12th December 2013

Laid before Parliament: 17th December 2013

Coming into force: 7th January 2014

The Lord Chancellor makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 58 to 61 of the Crime and Courts Act 2013[^f00001].

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1

• (1) This Order may be cited as the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (Commencement No. 7 and Saving and Consequential Provisions) Order 2013 and comes into force on 7th January 2014.

• (2) In this Order, “the Act” means the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

Provision coming into force on 7th January 2014

2

Section 24 of the Act (appeals relating to regulation of the Bar) comes into force on 7th January 2014.

Saving provision

3

• (1) Section 24 of the Act has no effect in relation to an appeal if—

• (a) the date of the decision which is the subject of the appeal is before 7th January 2014; and

• (b) the appellant serves notice on the Clerk to the Visitors of the Inns of Court in accordance with rule 4(1) of the Hearings before the Visitors Rules 2010[^f00002] before 18th April 2014.

• (2) In this article, the “date of the decision” means—

• (a) in a case where there is an oral hearing, the date on which the decision is announced at that hearing, whether or not the appellant is present at the announcement; or

• (b) in a case where there is no oral hearing, the date of the written notice of the outcome of the appeal.

Consequential provision

4

• (1) In the European Communities (Lawyer’s Practice) Regulations 2000[^f00003], in the table in Schedule 1 to the Regulations (appeals concerning registration as a European lawyer, exemption from regulation 26(a) of the qualification regulations and entry into the profession of solicitor or barrister), for “The Visitors to the Inns of Court” substitute “The High Court”.

• (2) In the European Communities (Recognition of Professional Qualifications) Regulations 2007[^f00004], in the table in Schedule 5 to the Regulations (appeal bodies), for “The Visitors to the Inns of Court” substitute “The High Court”.

• (3) Paragraphs (1) and (2) have no effect in relation to an appeal to which section 24 of the Act has no effect by virtue of article 3(1).

Signed

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor

Shailesh Vara — Parliamentary Under Secretary of State — Ministry of Justice — 12th December 2013

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This Order is the seventh commencement order made under the Crime and Courts Act 2013 (c. 22) (“the Act”). It brings into force section 24 of the Act, which deals with appeals relating to the regulation of the Bar. Section 24 applies only to England and Wales.

The effect of section 24 is that appeals against disciplinary decisions will be dealt with by the High Court rather than the Visitors to the Inns of Court. The appeals which now go to the High Court after the commencement of section 24 are appeals against decisions of Disciplinary Tribunals of the Council of the Inns of Court, decisions of the General Council of the Bar under the Bar Training Regulations, and disputes between an Inn of Court and its members or between members of an Inn.

Article 3(1) provides that section 24 has no effect, and therefore preserves the Visitors’ jurisdiction, for an appeal where the date of the decision is before 7th January 2014 and the appellant gives notice of intention to appeal to the Clerk to the Visitors in accordance with rule 4(1) before 18th April 2014. Article 4 makes consequential provision to replace references to the Visitors to the Inns of Court with references to the High Court. This consequential provision has no effect in relation to an appeal falling within article 3(1).

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2013 c. 22.

[^f00002]: These Rules were made by the Visitors to the Inns of Court; the version in force as at 7th January 2014 is the Hearings before the Visitors Rules 2010, updated on 1st November 2011. They can be found at https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/regulatory-requirements/the-code-of-conduct/annexes-to-the-code/annexe-m-hearings-before-the-visitors-rules/ or obtained from the Clerk to the Visitors, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL.

[^f00003]: S.I. 2000/1119. There have been relevant amendments to Schedule 1 by S.I. 2009/1587.

[^f00004]: S.I. 2007/2781.