UK Government Delays Announcement On Reform Of QC System

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

22 March 2004

Despite several indications that a decision has been reached by the UK government with regard to the reform of the QC system, no announcement on the matter is likely for at least another three weeks, a spokesman for the Department of Constitutional Affairs (DCA) told the Legal Week news service on Thursday.

Opinion is divided as to the reason for the delay, with some observers suggesting that it indicates that the government may be planning to reform the Silk system rather than abolishing it entirely. However, others believe that the announcement has been postponed in order to allow the government to concentrate on its core planned constitutional reforms.

Speaking to Legal Week, however, an unnamed civil servant suggested that it was more likely that an overload of work at the DCA had delayed the announcement than that Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer had had a last minute change of heart on the matter.

"The DCA has got the biggest legislative programme of any government department at the moment. They are probably just snowed under with work," he explained.

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