Crime Team AGFS announcement

14 June 2018

Following the narrow vote by the Criminal Bar Association’s (CBA) members to accept the proposed offer from the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) in relation to criminal defence fees, Garden Court North Chambers’ Crime Team is now accepting instructions in cases with representation orders dated 1st April 2018 or after. We thank our instructing solicitors for their support throughout our action.

However, the criminal justice system remains in crisis and as Angela Rafferty QC, the Chair of the CBA, observed yesterday, acceptance of the MOJ’s offer “is the beginning and not the end of our campaign to improve the broken system we all work in every day. We still face exceptional difficulties, as do our solicitor colleagues. This will not fix the terrible conditions, the unhealthy and unreasonably onerous working practices and the general decrepitude.”

The size of the vote to reject the offer should serve as a warning to the MOJ that they have so far demonstrated little understanding of the depth of the crisis in the entire criminal justice system and that they need to take urgent action to address our continuing grievances – grievances that are wider than just our remuneration and which aim to ensure that the criminal justice system ceases to fail complainants, defendants and the wider public.

Chambers news

Chambers news

Hillsborough Families Let Down Again

After a significant delay, described as ‘too long’ by the Justice Minister Alex Chalk, the UK Government has published its response to a report written...

Chambers news

Join us!

Due to significant demand across our core practice areas and our programme of strategic growth, Garden Court North Chambers is recruiting across all core practice...

Chambers news

UK Covid-19 Inquiry round-up: 27/11/23-1/12/23

This week GCN members Pete Weatherby KC and Anna Morris KC have questioned several prominent witnesses at the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. On Monday Pete questioned...

Chambers news

Joint Enterprise: the debut novel from GCN’s Brigid Baillie

Joint Enterprise is the debut novel from GCN’s Brigid Baillie, drawing on experiences from her time as a solicitor and as a barrister. On a...

Sign up to our mailing list

Our mailing list is dedicated to professionals with an interest in our work.

Sign up