Bar of Northern Ireland congratulates Justice Minister following reappointment

Wednesday 07 February 2024

The Bar of Northern Ireland has written to the Justice Minister, Naomi Long MLA, following her reappointment as Justice Minister on Saturday 03 February.

The Bar Council, an elected body of 20 practicing barristers responsible for the regulation and representation of the profession, congratulated Minister Long on her reappointment, noting her strong track record as Justice Minster in the last mandate, and setting out an expectation that the Bar will continue to work in a positive manner with the Department of Justice in, “promoting access to justice and advancing the Rule of Law”.

David Mulholland, Chief Executive of the Bar of Northern Ireland commented:

“The restoration of the Executive should be viewed as a positive development, creating opportunities for collaboration and engagement with a locally elected Minister and Members of the Legislative Assembly. The Bar is ready and prepared to advocate for a positive, proud and strategic vision for justice during the remainder of this Assembly mandate and beyond.

“We appreciate that there are a range of pressing issues that will require the Minister’s immediate attention following a sustained period without devolved government and a challenging budgetary settlement for justice under the terms of the Northern Ireland draft 2022-25 and 2023-2024 Budget.

“The Bar Council has, for some time, called for a strategic perspective to be taken in relation to access to justice, placing it on a sustainable footing and elevating its status so that it is no longer perceived as a problematic cost. Rather, our view is that access to justice should be regarded as a source of social, economic, and human value which merits appropriate investment and protection.

“We also welcome recent comments from the Minister regarding the underfunding of Northern Ireland as relative to need. We also concur with Minister Long’s assessment that a relatively small increase in the baseline budget for justice has the potential to resolve some of the issues faced across the sector and would prevent services going off the cliff edge, preventing a similar scenario to that experienced in recent years across health service delivery.

David Mulholland concluded: “The view of the Bar Council is that our courts must be accessible to all and access to justice must be advanced and maintained by a network of skilled and committed local legal professionals. The Bar looks forward to working with the Minister and the Department of Justice in achieving this – we remain committed to taking all necessary and proportionate action in support of advancing access to justice and ensuring the future viability of our profession.”

ENDS

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