Debate broke out between the two main branches of the British legal profession emerged this month over whether lawyers' representational bodies should be politically neutral.



Bar Council Chairman Stephen Hockman QC told a meeting of international bar leaders at the American Bar Association's annual conference in Hawaii that lawyers were best served when their representational bodies adopted a stance of neutrality.



But the new Law Society President, Fiona Woolf, warned that there were problems with that position as it could be misconstrued and 'taken for political support'.



The recent Law Society consultation showed that while practitioners did not necessarily support it adopting a political agenda, 'they did want us to stand up to government in relation to matters that affect the profession itself', she said, asking: 'If bar associations don't stand up for the rule of law, who else will?'



Expanding on the theme of the rule of law, Ms Woolf told bar leaders that the term was in danger of becoming meaningless to ordinary people at large. 'We need to develop tangible examples for the public of what the rule of law means. It is all very well to bang on about the erosion of the rule of law, but it is meaningless if the public doesn't understand the concept and have tangible, everyday examples.'



Ms Woolf pointed to the UK government's recent efforts to extend detention without trial to up to three months as an example of a relevant issue. She continued: 'If you are living in a bed-sit and have a problem with your landlord and push comes to shove, you want to know that you can take the landlord to court. The rule of law means that the court and judge won't be on the landlord's side because he is a big guy.



'Likewise, you might have a problem with the social security - you need to know that you can take the government to court and it has got to play by the same rules of the game as everyone else.'



Ms Woolf emphasised that explaining to the public the independence of the judiciary is a crucial part of this.



In a conference keynote speech, US Supreme Court judge Anthony Kennedy also said the rule of law must be defined to the public in easily understood language. He provided three strands to the definition: respect of dignity, equality and human rights of all people; the provision of a guarantee of a right to enforce the law without fear of retaliation; and it must be binding on all government officials.



Jonathan Ames