Consultation Paper
(160Kb)

Introduction

The Department for Constitutional Affairs is hosting a consultation exercise regarding the future of Queen's Counsel.

This exercise asks questions about the current role of Queen's Counsel (or Silk), its advantages and problems, and possible ways forward. It considers also whether the Queen's Counsel system is objectively in the public interest and whether it commands public confidence.

The consultation is aimed at users of legal services, members of the legal profession, including all current holders of the title of Queen's Counsel in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

This consultation is being conducted in line with the Code of Practice on Written Consultation issued by the Cabinet Office.

One of the aims of this paper is to collect evidence to enable us to undertake initial assessments of the impact on the public, customers, and business. The information received will be used to inform policy development and to develop a full regulatory impact assessment, which will be published in due course.

The full text of the consultation paper can be found here.

How To Respond

The response period for this consultation has now closed.