The Bar Council is considering appealing a High Court judge's ruling that its disciplinary procedure breaches the Human Rights Act 1998 because it does not provide an independent tribunal, it emerged this week.

The decision, which has caused embarrassment to the bar, could force it to reopen dozens of disciplinary cases.


Under current rules, decisions on whether to prosecute a barrister on disciplinary matters are made by the Bar Council's professional conduct and complaints committee (PCCC). Members of the committee also sit on the disciplinary panels that adjudicate such matters.


While an individual would not in fact sit on a disciplinary panel in a case on which he had attended a PCCC meeting, Mr Justice Colman ruled that the practice could lead to a public perception that the committee member was 'judge in his or her own cause'.


A Bar Council spokesman said: 'We are aware of the ruling and we are considering its implications. We are not sure that it is correct and we are examining the possibility of an appeal.'


The ruling was made by the Visitors to the Inns of Court, the bar's appeal panel for disciplinary matters, chaired by Mr Justice Colman.


Meanwhile, the bar's independent complaints commissioner, Michael Scott, reported last week that the number of complaints made against barristers dropped for the third year running from 685 in 2003 to 667 last year; 457 of the 667 were made by members of the public.