13 August 2007
You are invited to nominate people for appointment as Queen's Counsel 'honoris causa' (honorary Silk). Nomination forms must be returned to us by Friday 2 November 2007.
The Ministry of Justice intends to recommend a number of people to Her Majesty for appointment as Queen's Counsel 'honoris causa' (honorary Silk) in early 2008. Provisionally, we are looking to recommend up to four people for the award. We are inviting both the legal sector and the wider public to make nominations.
Criteria for appointment
Honorary Silk is awarded to lawyers who have made a major contribution to the law of England & Wales outside practice in the courts. This can potentially cover a wide range of activities so, while it is difficult to give a definitive list, we would like to make clear that we are happy to consider accomplishments in any area. Traditionally, honorary Silk has been awarded to distinguished legal academics and to some lawyers in public service for achievements beyond their normal responsibilities. More recently, awards have been made for other achievements as well. The six appointees in 2006 were:
- Guy Beringer - made a considerable contribution to the promotion and funding of pro bono work, together with playing a significant part in advancing international trade in legal services.
- Sir Geoffrey Bowman - made a significant contribution as First Parliamentary Counsel to the development of legislation on a wide range of substantial and difficult subjects.
- Professor Paul Davies - played a major part in the recent Company Law Review and other policy working groups.
- Dame Hazel Genn - is a leading authority on civil justice whose work has had a major influence on policy-makers around the world.
- Michael Napier - played a major role in the development of conditional fees, pioneered the provision of effective representation for those injured in disasters, and also made a significant contribution to the development of pro bono work.
- Rosalind Wright - was Director of the Serious Fraud Office and is currently non-executive director of the Office of Fair Trading, as well as chairing the Fraud Advisory Panel. She has also played a prominent role in promoting ethics in business.
As you can see, this is a wide range of achievements, and we are keen to ensure that the award continues to be at least as widely available as this. Nonetheless, in making a nomination you should bear the following in mind:
- The award is open only to qualified lawyers and to legal academics. However, although the substantive QC rank can be awarded only to lawyers with rights of audience in the higher courts, the honorary rank is not so limited. It is available to any practising lawyer, whether in private practice, working as an employed lawyer, or in public service. Public service includes any public-sector organisation - national government, local government, or other public bodies such as the CPS or the NHS - and also lawyers working in bodies such as charities or not-for-profit agencies. We recognise that non-lawyers make equally valuable contributions to public life, and may have done so in similar fields. But we regret that the award of honorary Silk is not available for such contributions. If you feel that someone in that position ought to be recognised, you can instead nominate them for an honour [insert hyperlink to Direct.gov honours page]. If anyone is nominated for honorary Silk who is not a lawyer, we will not refuse the nomination - we will instead include their name in the MoJ's consideration of honours. However, if anyone is nominated for honorary Silk who has been nominated for an honour this year or has already been honoured in the last year, it is very unlikely that we will be able to put their name forward.
- Honorary QC is not a working rank. It cannot be used in practice as a lawyer and, although this has never been a problem, we strongly discourage holders from exploiting the rank to attract business. This does mean, regrettably, that honorary Silk cannot be awarded as an alternative to the substantive QC rank for people who, for whatever reason, do not fit its eligibility criteria.
- Major contribution to the law of England & Wales can be interpreted as widely as you like. It means not only contributions to the development of the law, but also to people's understanding of it, their ability to make use of it, and its promotion.
- Outside practice in the courts will generally mean that the award is made for an achievement other than a person's normal practice as a lawyer or academic, which also brings with it a significant degree of public benefit. However, there is no definite boundary to this - for instance, the development of pro bono work is usually closely associated with practice. We would also like to recognise particular distinction in both practice and academic law.
- Honorary Silk is awarded only in England & Wales. There is no parallel to it in Scotland or Northern Ireland. This does not, of course, mean that achievements of this nature cannot be recognised in those jurisdictions. The honours system is able to do that. If you would like to nominate someone whose work is in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you can contact the Scottish Executive or the Northern Ireland Court Service.
How to make a nomination
We welcome nominations for honorary Silk from anyone. If you would like to suggest someone for appointment, please let us have the following information:
- the person's full name
- their contact details, if you know them
- their legal qualifications, if you know them
-
your reasons for believing that the person you are nominating has made a major contribution to the law of England & Wales outside practice in the courts. Please tell us:
- what the person has done, where, and (if appropriate) for whom; and
- how, in your opinion, this amounts to a major contribution - beyond what might normally be expected for someone in this person's position.
Please give as much detail as you can. The more we know about a nominee, the easier it is to assess whether they meet the honorary Silk criteria. If we have only a limited amount of information about someone, it is unlikely that we will be able to recommend them for appointment.
You can nominate as many people as you like, but please ensure that you keep their details separate.
Nomination form [Word 0.03mb, 2 pages]
You need to fill in the nomination form and send it to us by Friday 2 November 2007 by email or fax or post to:
Seán Langley
Ministry of Justice
Selborne House
54-60 Victoria Street
London
SW1E 6QW
Fax: 020 7210 0613 / 0870 7394091
Timing
The next QC appointments will be made in March 2008, and we plan to include honorary Silk appointments with them. In line with standard practice, we would like to allow as much time as possible for nominations to be made, but we do need time to consider them and decide who should be recommended to Her Majesty. Because of this, please ensure that your nominations reach us no later than Friday 2 November 2007. If we receive nominations after this date, we will do our best to include them, but we cannot guarantee that they will be considered.
Background
The rank of Queen's Counsel is awarded to advocates (barristers and solicitors) who have demonstrated particular skill and expertise in the conduct of advocacy. It has been awarded in various forms for around 400 years. Since 2005, an independent Selection Panel has made recommendations to the Lord Chancellor, using a new system of assessment based on competencies and rigorous analysis of evidence.
The rank of Queen's Counsel honoris causa is separate. The first awards were made in the late 19th century and it has been the practice for Governments to recommend a small number of lawyers for the honorary rank with each round of substantive appointments. Despite its name, honorary Silk is not part of the honours system and is administered separately within the Ministry of Justice.
Both versions of the QC rank were suspended in 2003 while the Department for Constitutional Affairs (as it then was) conducted a consultation exercise about the future of Queen's Counsel. The QC Selection Panel was the result of that consultation. The first new awards of QC and QC honoris causa were made in October 2006.
Contact us
If you would like any more information about honorary Silk or how to make a nomination, please feel free to contact us by phone on 020 7210 1449, or by e-mail.