It is a long time since I practised criminal law, but I have been a civil courts judge for 16 years so I know the value of good advocacy anywhere. I would like to comment on the letter ‘For the defence’ from the chief crown prosecutor Barry Hughes...

Even mundane advocacy should not be entrusted to people who have not passed the most basic practical law exam

It is a long time since I practised criminal law, but I have been a civil courts judge for 16 years so I know the value of good advocacy anywhere. I would like to comment on the letter ‘For the defence’ from the chief crown prosecutor Barry Hughes (see [2009] Gazette, 9 April, 9).

Mr Hughes says that associate prosecutors comply with the CPS National Standards of Advocacy. I have looked at those on the web. They start with the admonishment: ‘Advocates should always adhere to the requirements of their professional body contained in the Code of Conduct of the Bar of England and Wales, the Solicitors Code of Conduct or the ILEX Code of Conduct.’ But it appears that associate prosecutors belong to no such body yet.

When the CPS was formed, one of its purposes was to replace the police officer prosecutors who often appeared unrepresented before magistrates in summary trials and some committals. It was considered that professional advocates with deeper and wider knowledge should represent the public, because they would tend to be more objective and better able to help the courts. I fail to see how that ideal can be fulfilled by entrusting even mundane advocacy to people who have not passed the most basic practical law exams or entered under the aegis of professional regulation.

I do not know whether the CPS policy of using associate prosecutors will work in the long term. However, I am afraid that Mr Hughes’ advocacy for it is not up to the job, because it has failed to remove this quasi-independent observer’s impression that the CPS is becoming a tick-box service, devoid of individual wisdom, judgement or discretion.

Kevin Beach, Consultant to Preuveneers, Crawley