Criminal Bar Association Update on Withdrawal of Services

The Criminal Bar Association (CBA), the association which represents criminal barristers within the Bar of Northern Ireland, has been engaged in a withdrawal of certain legally aided services since November 2024.

This action was taken in response to a crisis in the Criminal Legal Aid system, including a failure to raise legal fees associated with this work in twenty years, despite the increased volume and complexity of the work involved in these cases.

The scope of the CBA’s incremental action was initially limited to refusal of instructions in defined classes of new Crown Court cases.

Due to continued failings on the part of the Department, the CBA action was escalated in January 2025 to include a withdrawal of services from all legally aided cases listed before the Crown Court that month. The CBA then voted in January to extend this escalated form of action to all such cases listed in February 2025.

Engagement has taken place with the Department of Justice in recent weeks. Although positive, the CBA does not consider that this engagement has created the conditions necessary to enable them to advise their members to cease entirely their withdrawal of services.

However, we can confirm that, from 1st March 2025, the January and February escalation shall cease and the CBA will return to dealing with cases listed before the Crown Court, whilst maintaining their refusal to accept instructions in defined classes of new Crown Court cases (namely, Category A, retrials, and multi-compliant Category D cases).

The Bar of Northern Ireland has at all times been, and remains, ready, willing, and able to engage in meaningful dialogue with the Department of Justice in order to resolve the access to justice crisis and bring to an end its remaining industrial action.

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Sinead McIvor 07701 302498