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The General Council of the Bar of England and Wales

The Bar Council

The General Council of the Bar of England and Wales (known as the Bar Council) was founded in 1894 to represent the interests of barristers.

Lobbying Activity

Response to Digital Services Act: deepening the Internal Market and clarifying responsibilities for digital services

31 Mar 2021

Please find attached feedback on the Digital Services Act Proposal by the Bar Council of England & Wales. If follows up on our response to the Commission Consultation on the same subject, submitted in September 2020.
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Response to Improving environmental protection through criminal law

21 Dec 2020

The Commission's own Inception Impact Report states the following: "Environmental crime is not a problem that stops at national borders. The trafficking of waste, wildlife and chemicals, and the pollution of water including maritime pollution and air typically have cross-border effects, also beyond the EU." The EU Law Committee of the Bar Council of England and Wales supports the EU's planned revision of the Environmental Crime Directive and the need for cooperation, raising of standards and exchanges of best practice in this field within and beyond the EU's borders. We look forward to constructive engagement in this important work going forward.
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Response to Evaluation of the Victims’ Rights Directive

21 Dec 2020

The EU Law Committee of the Bar Council of England and Wales would like to signal the interest of our members in this important and timely work. The rights of victims of crime, indeed, the very definition of who is a victim and thus who should be protected, have been the focus of policy developments in England and Wales over many years, and the subject of review again this year. Delays to criminal proceedings that have resulted from Covid19 have exacerbated an already difficult situation in our criminal justice system, including as regards the rights of victims of crime. We also note the international dimension of the Commission's strategy on Victim's Rights 2020-2025 and the importance in that regard of ensuring high standards and best practice for EU citizens who are victims of crime in third countries, and vice versa.
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Response to Child sexual abuse online: detection, removal and reporting

21 Dec 2020

The EU Law Committee of the Bar Council of England & Wales supports the work of the European Commission in its efforts to counter child sex abuse. The detection, removal and reporting of child sexual abuse online is a necesary element in the broader fight against the exploitation of children and the protection of their fundamental rights. Any legal framework that is put in place in pursuit of these objectives will need to encompass binding obligations for relevant service providers, on a proportionate basis, and including necessary safeguards. It should ensure legal certainty, transparency and accountability.
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Response to Consumer Credit Agreement – review of EU rules

1 Sept 2020

1. This initial feedback by the General Council of the Bar of England and Wales (the Bar Council) is submitted in response to the European Commission’s Inception Impact Assessment on the Review of the Consumer Credit Directive (2008/48/EC) (the Impact Assessment) . 2. The Bar Council represents approximately 17,000 barristers in England and Wales. It promotes the Bar’s high quality specialist advocacy and advisory services; fair access to justice for all; the highest standards of ethics, equality and diversity across the profession; and the development of business opportunities for barristers at home and abroad. The Bar Council is also the Approved Regulator for the Bar of England and Wales. It discharges its regulatory functions through the independent Bar Standards Board (BSB). A strong and independent Bar exists to serve the public and is crucial to the administration of justice. 3. In summary, we consider that targeted legislative action is justified in this field. Our preliminary views in relation to the specific issues raised are set out below. Inadequate scope of the existing measure 4. We support the proposal to extend the scope of the Consumer Credit Directive (the CCD) to take account of new operators and new forms of credit, and in particular the proposal to bring credit falling below €200 within the scope of the CCD. A reduction to the financial threshold for regulation seems sensible: credit below the €200 cap has the potential to cause harm to consumers and can lead to debts significantly in excess of that sum (as exemplified by the UK high-cost short term credit (“pay-day lending”) market). Moreover, we note that the €200 cap was not implemented in the UK, meaning that the relevant protections already extend to loans below this value, without causing notable difficulties to lenders. Content and disclosure of information 5. We agree that the information requirements in the CCD are out of step with technological advances and can be difficult for consumers to grasp, not least because the volume of information currently mandated by the CCD can be overwhelming and thus counterproductive. In addition to reducing and simplifying the content of information that must be provided, it seems sensible to pay due regard to context (e.g. the format and timing of information), in line with behavioural science. Insufficient safeguards to ensure responsible lending/borrowing 6. Article 8 of the CCD is drafted in overly vague terms, making it unlikely to guarantee sufficient levels of consumer protection. We note that the UK’s domestic credit assessment rules were recently reviewed by the Financial Conduct Authority, which extended them in 2018 to be more prescriptive. Whilst there have been some concerns expressed by lenders regarding the overly prescriptive nature of these new rules, they do provide more protection for consumers and more certainty for lenders as to what is expected of them. 7. However, it would not make sense to revise the CCD to be more protective than the Mortgage Credit Directive (the MCD). Rather than prescribing factors to be taken into account as part of a creditworthiness assessment, the CCD should require Member States to determine the procedures and information on which creditworthiness assessments should be based (in common with the MCD). Exceptional situations 8. We agree with the points made in the Feedback Response submitted by the Republic of Ireland, which highlights (a) the difficulty in anticipating appropriate regulatory responses; (b) the desirability of a consistent framework, across different related measures, for dealing with crises. We note too that the Covid-19 outbreak has highlighted a problem that arises when overly prescriptive rules, imposed on lenders, continue to constrain them even in such unforeseen circumstances, leading to potential consumer detriment.
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Response to Empowering the consumer for the green transition

1 Sept 2020

Please see attached pdf document - Bar Council of England & Wales feedback, Green Transition, in which we express our support for the Commission's objectives in the Green Transition, and make some preliminary remarks and suggestions regarding specific policy plans.
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Meeting with Didier Reynders (Commissioner) and

5 Feb 2020 · Presentation of the organisation's views on various issues covered by justice portfolio

Meeting with Thomas Zerdick (Cabinet of First Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

19 Jun 2018 · Rule of Law and Access to Justice

Meeting with Kevin O'Connell (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová), Simona Constantin (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

18 Jun 2018 · sale of goods, digital contracts, data protection, new deal for consumers

Meeting with Simona Constantin (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

15 Jan 2016 · Digital contracts proposals

Meeting with Daniel Braun (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová), Eduard Hulicius (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová), Monika Ladmanova (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová), Simona Constantin (Cabinet of Commissioner Věra Jourová)

6 May 2015 · General agenda of Commissioner for Justice

Meeting with Denzil Davidson (Cabinet of Commissioner Jonathan Hill)

21 Jan 2015 · Financial Services Policy