New agreement sets out how the Commissioner for Conduct will work with the judiciary
The Bar Council has signed a new agreement with the senior judiciary setting out how its Commissioner for Conduct will work with judges to address bullying, harassment, discrimination and exclusionary behaviour across courts and tribunals.
Announced on 8 July, the agreement has been signed by the Bar Council’s Commissioner for Conduct, Dame Maria Miller, together with the Lady Chief Justice and the Senior President of Tribunals. It forms part of the Bar Council’s wider programme to implement recommendations made in the independent Harman Review into bullying, harassment and sexual harassment at the Bar.
The agreement establishes a framework for cooperation while reaffirming the constitutional separation between the Bar and the judiciary. It makes clear that the Commissioner has no role in overseeing or regulating judicial office holders, whose conduct remains the responsibility of the Lady Chief Justice and, where formal complaints are made to the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office, the Lord Chancellor under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.
Instead, the parties have committed to working together to promote respectful behaviour throughout courts and tribunals. Engagement between the judiciary and the Commissioner will be led by the judiciary’s lead judge for diversity, inclusion, leadership development and wellbeing.
Under the agreement, the Commissioner may visit courts or tribunals to discuss concerns relating to bullying, harassment, discrimination or exclusionary behaviour, subject to advance approval from the Lady Chief Justice or the Senior President through their respective private offices. Individual judicial office holders will be encouraged to engage with the Commissioner, although participation will remain voluntary.
For solicitors and other legal professionals working alongside the Bar, the agreement provides greater clarity about the respective responsibilities of the Commissioner and the judiciary. It confirms that informal concerns about judicial behaviour can be raised with the Commissioner as part of wider engagement work, while formal complaints about judicial conduct continue to follow the established statutory process.
The parties have also agreed to have regard to the judiciary’s Statement of Expected Behaviour, which sets out the standards of conduct expected of judicial office holders. The document states that the shared objective is to maintain courts and tribunals where judges, legal professionals, court staff and court users are treated with courtesy and respect.
The Bar Council said the agreement represents the next step in implementing the Harman Review’s recommendations aimed at improving reporting arrangements and supporting efforts to address bullying, harassment and discrimination across the profession.