The Youth Justice Legal Centre has submitted its response to the Bar Standards Board (BSB) Consultation on compulsory registration for youth advocates.
Details
The Youth Justice Legal Centre believe all children should be represented by specialist youth justice lawyers. We would like all criminal lawyers who represent children to have knowledge and expertise in youth justice law and the specialist skills required to communicate with children and young people.
We welcome the BSB’s proposals as they are intended to improve the standards of advocacy in youth proceedings (paras 3.5-3.7 BSB Consultation Paper).
Compulsory registration will provide recognition that children and young people must be represented by advocates who have specialist skills and expertise.
We feel the proposals require greater clarity and we believe it is necessary to introduce a requirement for mandatory training.
Read YJLC Response to the Bar Standards Board Consultation.