General Council of the Bar
The General Council of the Bar, commonly known as the Bar Council, is the professional association for barristers in England and Wales. Established in 1894, it acts as a disciplinary body and a regulatory body through the Bar Standards Board. The Bar Council also represents the interests of barristers.[1]
History
The General Council of the Bar was created in 1894 to deal with breaches of a barrister's professional etiquette, something that had previously been handled by the judiciary.[2] Along with the Inns of Court it formed the Senate of the Inns of Court and the Bar in 1974, a union that was broken up on 1 January 1987 following a report by Lord Rawlinson. The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 designated the Bar Council as the professional body for barristers, with the role as a regulatory body being split off in 2006 to form the Bar Standards Board.
