The Bar Tribunals Adjudication Service and the Bar Standards Board have issued the following statement:
"The Bar Tribunals Adjudication Service and the Bar Standards Board are aware of current concern from the public and the profession at the level of sanctions imposed in cases of sexual misconduct. The sanctions imposed fall within the current Sanctions Guidance. This Guidance covers the whole range of professional misconduct and has been under review since last year. Proposals from the review will be published and subject to consultation with a view to having updated Guidance in place in the summer."
ENDS
Notes to editors
About the BTAS Sanctions Guidance
This guidance has been developed by the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service (‘BTAS’) in collaboration with the Bar Standards Board (‘BSB’), for use by members of BTAS’s Disciplinary Tribunals when considering what sanctions should be imposed where a finding of professional misconduct has been made for a breach of the BSB Handbook. The current Guidance can be found here https://www.tbtas.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/BTAS-Sanctions-Guidance-2019.pdf.
About disciplinary tribunals
The appointment, operation, and decisions (including sentencing) of disciplinary tribunal panels are performed by the Bar Tribunals and Adjudication Service (BTAS). BTAS is run independently of the Bar Standards Board, the barristers' regulator. The BSB is responsible for bringing charges of professional misconduct against barristers, which BTAS tribunal panels then adjudicate. The sanctions imposed are a matter for the tribunal having regard to BTAS Sanctions Guidance.
About the Bar Standards Board
Our mission is to regulate barristers and specialised legal services businesses in England and Wales in the public interest. For more information about what we do visit: http://bit.ly/1gwui8t
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