Victory for Bar

The status quo was kept in place by the Court of Appeal on Tuesday through its ruling that mandatory membership of the Bar Association is not unconstitutional.

The decision was made by Justice of appeal Kaye Goodridge, along with Justice William Chandler and Justice Margaret Reifer, who are both acting appeal judges.

Last year, Justice Pamela Beckles had determined that attorneys in Barbados do not have to be members of the Bar to practise.

In a 19-page judgment, she ruled that no law, inclusive of the Legal Profession Act, was more supreme than The Constitution, which provides a freedom to associate, thus determining that compulsory membership to the Bar Association was, in itself, unconstitutional. (BA)

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