New Bar Council Chair calls for urgent investment in justice system

The new Bar Council Chair, Sam Townend KC has called for urgent investment in to the justice system, which he believes is “at the point of structural failure”.

Sam Townend KC, delivered his inaugural address at Lincoln’s Inn earlier this month setting out his two key priorities for 2024:

• securing more resources for the justice system; and
• supporting the profession to become more resilient and sustainable.

When speaking about the current state of the justice sector, Sam Townend KC, said:

“I put it bluntly: The criminal and family justice systems are at the point of structural failure. The need for significant investment is great and it is urgent.”

Moving on to the current position of the family courts, Sam highlighted the ongoing impact of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Publishment of Offenders Act 2012. He said:

“The problem in family matters is a structural one… It is hard to resist the conclusion that what we are witnessing is a chronic decline in the effectiveness of the family justice system following the implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 which extinguished the availability of legal aid for most family law litigants who previously qualified.”

Read or watch the full speech

Please note that this article was published on 19th January and the date has been changed for newsletter inclusion