Middle Templar 2020

Page 84

THE INNS OF COURT

CAMILA FERRARO

The Inns of Court Camila Ferraro is this year’s President of the MTSA and is also a Jules Thorn Scholar. She was born in Colombia and raised in Cambridge. Camila is passionate about international criminal law and advocates for minority backgrounds at the Bar. Alongside her studies, Camila works as a Modern Slavery Support Worker at the Medaille Trust.

Previously printed in Counsel Magazine.

The Inns of Court are an essential part of the Bar. However, over recent years, there have been growing concerns about their relevance and longevity. In 2019, the Inns of Court and the Bar Standards Board (BSB) signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which clarified the duties of the Inns. The turn of a new decade calls for a review of how the Inns operate and what changes may enable them to create a more positive externality. In other industries, such as chartered accountancy, a single organisation undertakes the roles equivalent to both the Inns of Court and the BSB. Closer to the Bar, this is also the case for solicitors whereby the Law Society, with the SRA as its arm, executes both roles. One may question why the Bar operates four Inns of Court. The answer is historical, with the Inns predicating both the solicitor and chartered accountancy institutions. The Inns of Court emerged as Britain moved from a Roman civil law system

to an English common law system in 1218. Both Henry II and Henry III issued proclamations prohibiting the teaching of civil law in the City of London. This led to common law practitioners relocating their premises and forming the Inns of Court. They served, as is suggested by their names, as places for barristers to lodge, train, and carry out their profession. Prior to the creation of the Law Society, there were also several Inns of Chancery. Following the First English Civil War, the Inns of Chancery served as accommodation and offices for solicitors. In 1823, the Inns of Chancery were abolished in favour of the Law Society. Following a recent review, the BSB has concluded that the Inns of Court are a vital component of the Bar and that membership of an Inn should remain compulsory for students who are training for the Bar. Indeed, there is a heritage that the Inns have helped preserve at the Bar. The existence of the Inns is also enshrined

in the Legal Services Act 2007, among other legislation. The debate has since transitioned to what more the Inns could offer to their members. The BSB has delegated three formal duties to the Inns of Court. The first; the provision of membership to student barristers prior to their enrolment onto the Bar Professional Training Course (BPTC). The purpose being to facilitate the Inn’s duty to perform checks on their students and to also oversee their conduct. Each Inn ultimately needs to reach a conclusion on whether their student members are ‘fit and proper’ to be Called to the Bar. Should there be any alleged misconduct by student members, it is the Inn’s responsibility to investigate the matter. The second duty of the Inns of Court is to provide Qualifying Sessions (QS) for students. These sessions are viewed as complementing the vocational training component of the BPTC. Each Inn is responsible for devising a programme of QS in line with the guidelines agreed with the BSB. QS can range from lectures and formal dinners to debating and mooting competitions. Longer programmes may also be eligible for consideration. For example, Middle Temple operates advocacy training weekends at Cumberland Lodge. The third duty is to Call eligible members to the Bar. From 2021, this will include a standard Disclosure and Barring Service check for every member being Called. Beyond the guidelines issued by the BSB, the Inns of Court also offer a space for members to develop a community of professional practice. The Inns are equipped with endowments to provide ample scholarships, and facilities such as the Library give members more reasons to visit them. However, I would argue that the most vital role of the Inns has been due to a more recent development. The re-introduction of the Inns of Court College of Advocacy brings to the Inns a real raison d’être. From September 2020, the Inns will, through the Inns of Court College of Advocacy, provide a Bar Training Course on their premises. This has considerably

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2020 Middle Templar


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Temple Church Weddings

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page 145

New Masters of the Bench 2019-20

9min
pages 127-129

Middle Temple Students' Association

4min
page 126

Middle Temple Young Barristers' Association

7min
pages 124-125

Hall Committee

4min
page 123

The COIC Pupillage Matched Funded Scheme

3min
page 122

What Have the Bar Council and the Inn Ever Done for Me?

2min
page 119

Behind the Lens

8min
pages 116-118

Temple Residents' Association

4min
page 121

Valedictory: The Rt Hon. Lord Carnwath

7min
pages 114-115

Temple Church During Lockdown

7min
pages 112-113

Lent Reader’s Feast: The Highways, Byways and Blind Alleys of International Law

11min
pages 108-110

Temple Church Choir Summer Review

2min
page 111

Becoming a Barrister

15min
pages 103-105

Autumn Reader's Feast: Current Challenges in the Criminal Justice System

8min
pages 106-107

Talk to Spot

3min
page 102

The Divorce Blame Game is Nearly Over

6min
pages 100-101

You have the Right to Remain Unidentified

7min
pages 98-99

Levelling the Playing Field

8min
pages 96-97

A Day in the Country in Lockdown

9min
pages 92-93

Confronting the Challenges Presented by the Covid-19 Pandemic

8min
pages 90-91

Impeachment of a U.S. President

8min
pages 94-95

How Middle Temple Helped Me

3min
page 88

Don’t Let Commercial Awareness be a Bar to Success

4min
page 87

Student Life at the Inn

3min
page 86

In the Shoes of an Out of London Student

4min
page 85

The Inns of Court

3min
page 84

The ICCA Bar Course

3min
page 83

Troubled Journeys on the Path to Justice

3min
page 82

Turning the Tide against Corruption in the Congo

4min
page 81

My Journey to the Bar and Becoming the First Kurdish Iraqi Barrister

3min
page 80

Qualifying Sessions

4min
page 79

The Role of an Inn of Court

3min
page 78

Five Perspectives on Sponsorship

8min
pages 76-77

Advocacy at the Inn

7min
pages 74-75

Outreach

3min
page 72

Sherrard Conversations

3min
page 73

Mock Pupillage Interviews

7min
pages 68-69

Volunteering at Call Day

2min
pages 70-71

Mooting Trip to Cherokee

9min
pages 65-67

Education Update

4min
page 64

100 Years Since Helena Normanton's First Qualifying Session

2min
page 58

MTYBA & MTSA International Women's Day

2min
page 59

Créme de la Créme Climbing Rose

2min
page 62

Celebrating a Century of Women in Law

5min
pages 56-57

Circuit Societies

15min
pages 53-55

MTYBA Dark Waters Event

3min
page 63

The Rule of Law Under Attack

7min
pages 60-61

Working in the Seychelles

4min
page 52

An Increased Use of Technology in Gibraltar's Legal System

2min
page 51

Access to Justice during the Coronavirus Pandemic: The Malaysian Experience

8min
pages 48-49

Cross Border Practice in Europe and Brexit

4min
page 46

Business as Usual at the European Court of Justice Pending Brexit

7min
pages 44-45

Reflections on a Declaration of Friendship

7min
pages 42-43

Mind the Gap: The General Adjourned Period and the Coronavirus Pandemic in Hong Kong

4min
page 47

Amity Visit to Canada

6min
pages 40-41

Book Review: Equal Justice by Frederick Wilmot-Smith

3min
page 39

Book Review: Court Number One: The Old Bailey Trials that Defined Modern Britain by Thomas Grant

4min
page 38

Book Review: Simon Brown's Memoirs by the The Rt Hon The Lord Brown

4min
page 35

The Ceremonial Plate of the Middle Temple

4min
page 32

Lord Carson of Duncairn: Barrister, Statesman and Judge

11min
pages 27-29

Unshaken & Unshakeable

7min
pages 30-31

A Personal Collection of 15th Century Documents

17min
pages 23-26

Justiciability – A Forgotten Saga

9min
pages 33-34

Readers of the Temple: From the 16th to the 19th Century

9min
pages 20-22

A Potted History of the Office of the Under Treasurer

5min
pages 18-19

Equality and Diversity at the Bar Council

4min
page 13

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic

3min
page 17

Racial Equality, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Working Group

2min
page 12

Black Lives Matter

4min
page 11

BAME and the Bar

4min
page 10

From the Treasurer

6min
pages 8-9

Speech at the Inauguration of the Middle Temple LGBTQ+ Forum

11min
pages 14-16

Under Treasurers’ Forewords

8min
pages 6-7
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