Click here to download the appointment of arbitrator form as a Word document. [FILE SIZE: 26.0KB]
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The Bar Council has established an arbitration/conciliation procedure to resolve disputes arising between individual members of chambers or between a member or members of chambers and a senior clerk, as the case may be.
To these ends, a panel of barristers willing to act as arbitrators/conciliators has been set up by the Services, Representation and Policy Department of the Bar Council and approved by the Chairman of the Bar.
A panel of barristers' clerks willing to assist the chosen barrister as above and act as arbitrator/conciliator has been set up also by the Institute of Barristers’ Clerks.
When a dispute arises which cannot be amicably resolved between the parties, resort may be had to this machinery by contacting the Services, Representation and Policy Department of the Bar Council.
This service is only available where the barristers concerned have paid the voluntary subscription to the Bar Council.
NB: A Conciliation or Arbitration is only possible where all parties have agreed to accept this course of action.
Procedure
1. The problem is presented to the Services, Representation and Policy Department.
2. One party makes an informal request for the appointment of an arbitrator/conciliator; the other party is invited to discuss the possibility. If it is agreed in principle that arbitration/conciliation is possible the parties should indicate their preference.
3. The Head of the Services, Representation and Policy Department, or his delegate will then issue to the party/parties standard forms whereby the parties request the Bar Council to appoint an arbitrator/conciliator to resolve their dispute, brief particulars of which should be set out on the form. The form should indicate the agreement of the signatories to either arbitration or conciliation. The form should be returned to the Bar Council as soon as possible.
4. In the event that arbitration has been chosen, the parties must agree to cooperate with, and abide by, the decision of the arbitrator(s). In the event that conciliation has been chosen, the parties should agree to cooperate with the Conciliator and try to settle their differences.
5. On the return of the forms, an arbitrator/conciliator will be nominated from the standing panel(s) by the Head of the Services, Representation and Policy Department or his delegate, and will be asked to confirm their availability to accept the reference and to indicate that they are not inhibited from so doing by prior knowledge of one or other of the parties.
6. If a barrister's clerk is involved, an arbitrator/conciliator will also be selected from the Institute of Barristers’ Clerks list. In such cases, the barrister arbitrator/conciliator will initiate the proceedings but will work in cooperation with his counterpart from the Institute of Barristers’ Clerks.
7. On receipt of the completed forms signed by every party to the dispute, the parties will be informed of the arbitrator/conciliator(s) selected and, provided that no objection is raised, the selected arbitrator/conciliator(s) will be informed that the parties have agreed to submit their dispute to their arbitration/conciliation and also will be sent copies of the completed form signed by the parties.
8. In the event of arbitration, the arbitrators will follow the attached rules.
9. Once the parties have complied with the barrister arbitrator's directions, the future conduct of the arbitration will be under his control. The award should be published direct to the parties, with a confidential copy of the award to the Bar Council; the Institute of Barristers’ Clerks should also be sent a confidential copy for the purposes of information, in any arbitration relating to a barrister's clerk.
10. In the event of a conciliation, the barrister conciliator will initiate whatever action he sees fit in conjunction, where appropriate, with his barristers’ clerk counterpart.
Conciliation
The Conciliators' role should be limited to the function of conciliation and of exploring the possibilities of an agreed solution to the dispute. They should be familiar with the relevant provisions of the Code of Conduct and of the guidance in Practice Management Standards and Guidelines, and should be able to point out to the parties, any apparent breaches of the Code, or relevant recommendations in Practice Management Standards and Guidelines which do not appear to have been followed.
The Conciliators will have no jurisdiction to impose a solution on the parties, but it is suggested that the fact that they have been asked to intervene on behalf of the Bar Council and, as appropriate, the Institute of Barristers’ Clerks would enable them, if the facts justified such a course, to bring appropriate persuasive pressure to bear on an unreasonable party to remedy any breaches and point out that continuing breaches of the Code might involve a report to the Professional Conduct Committee unless the breach was remedied.
Arbitration
The Arbitrators' role is to assess the situation and resolve it in accordance with the evidence to their satisfaction. They then have the authority to impose their decision on the parties. The rules and procedures are set out in the attached rules.
It is suggested that the formality of arbitration should be reserved for the situation where the parties have decided that they can no longer work together and a split - whether of one group of barristers from another, or the departure of the Senior Clerk - has already occurred, or is imminent.
