Making a Complaint

The Bar of Northern Ireland aims to provide the highest standards of service. However, there may be occasions when you feel it necessary to make a complaint about a barrister. You can raise a complaint about:

• The professional service provided to you by your barrister – This involves complaints about the quality of service you directly received from a barrister who had been instructed to act on your behalf. Our process aims to resolve all eligible complaints that are presented to it. But where, despite the co-operation of all involved, resolution is not possible, an independent Committee can consider, based on the evidence, whether to award a wide range of findings.

• The professional conduct of a barrister- This involves complaints about the behaviour of a barrister and whether they acted in breach of the rules and duties that are placed upon them. Our process will investigate all eligible complaints to determine if a breach appears to have taken place. Where this is the case, depending on the gravity of the issue, an independent Committee can consider applying a wide range of sanctions on the barrister.

On some occasions a complaint might involve both service and conduct issues. These are referred to as hybrid complaints.

Examples of a Service Complaint:

• Work not being performed to the scope and standard that had been agreed and which was therefore proven to be incomplete, inaccurate or erroneous.
• Significant delay in meeting an agreed deadline for work to be performed where no reasonable grounds or explanation was provided for the work taking longer than expected.
• Failure to attend court or a meeting without giving notice, making suitable alternative arrangements or providing an adequate explanation.
• Poor and inadequate information – where you should reasonably have expected to receive important information but it was not provided on time or to the required standard.

Examples of a Conduct Complaint:

If you are unsure of the type of complaint you have, you can consult our more detailed guidance or contact us for more information.

• Work not being performed to the scope and standard that had been agreed and which was therefore proven to be incomplete, inaccurate or erroneous.
• Significant delay in meeting an agreed deadline for work to be performed where no reasonable grounds or explanation was provided for the work taking longer than expected.
• Failure to attend court or a meeting without giving notice, making suitable alternative arrangements or providing an adequate explanation.
• Poor and inadequate information – where you should reasonably have expected to receive important information but it was not provided on time or to the required standard.
• Acting without honesty or integrity
• Suspected dishonesty
• A breach of confidentiality
• Bullying or harassing behaviour

If you are unsure of the type of complaint you have, you can consult our more detailed guidance or contact us for more information.

Provided that a complaint meets the eligibility criteria, you can submit a complaint using the relevant Complaint Form.

Detailed Guidance is available to guide you through the next steps in the process.