Honorary QC nominations: deadline 21 September 2016

21 Jul 2016 12:25 PM

Seeking nominations for honorary QC – description of the rank , how to make a nomination, and a downloadable nomination form.

You are invited to nominate people for appointment as Queen’s Counsel ‘honoris causa’ (honorary silk). Nomination forms must be returned to us by 21 September 2016.

The Ministry of Justice intends to recommend a number of people to Her Majesty for appointment as Queen’s Counsel ‘honoris causa’ (honorary silk) in spring 2017. We are inviting both the legal sector and the wider public to make nominations.

How to make a nomination

We welcome nominations for honorary silk from anyone. If you would like to suggest someone for appointment, please provide the following information:

Please tell us:

Please give as much detail as you can. The more we know about a nominee, the easier it is to assess whether they meet the honorary silk criteria. If we have only a limited amount of information about someone, it is unlikely that we will be able to recommend them for appointment.

You can nominate as many people as you like, but please ensure that you keep their details separate.

You need to complete the nomination form and send it to us by 21 September 2016 preferably by email or alternatively post to:

Nalini Deen
Ministry of Justice
3.30
102 Petty France
London
SW1H 9AJ

Email: nalini.deen@justice.gsi.gov.uk

Honorary Queen's Counsel nomination form (MS Word Document, 33KB)

Please note, we will only accept nominations which are included in the Nomination Form attached to this webpage. Letters of support for a candidate will not be accepted or attached to a nomination. In cases where more than one person wishes to nominate a single candidate, each individual must send in a separate form for the nominee. This gives a fuller representation of the candidate’s suitability for Honorary Silk.

Criteria for appointment

In making a nomination you should ensure that your nominee meets the required criteria set out below:

Please note that:

Honorary silk appointees 2016 (PDF, 197KB, 3 pages)

Timing

The next substantive QC appointments are planned for spring 2017 and we expect to include honorary silk appointments with them. In line with standard practice, we would like to allow as much time as possible for nominations to be made, but we do need time to consider them and decide who should be recommended to Her Majesty. Because of this, please ensure that your nominations reach us no later than 21 September 2016. If we receive nominations after this date, we will do our best to include them, but we cannot guarantee that they will be considered.

Background

The rank of Queen’s Counsel is awarded to advocates (barristers and solicitors) who have demonstrated particular skill and expertise in the conduct of advocacy. It has been awarded in various forms for around 400 years. Since 2005, an independent Selection Panel has made recommendations to the Lord Chancellor, using a new system of assessment based on competencies and rigorous analysis of evidence.

The rank of Queen’s Counsel honoris causa is separate. The first awards were made in the late nineteenth century and it has been the practice for governments to recommend a small number of lawyers and legal academics for the honorary rank with each round of substantive appointments. Despite its name, honorary silk is not part of the honours system and is administered separately within the Ministry of Justice.

Both versions of the QC rank were suspended in 2003 while the Department for Constitutional Affairs (as it then was) conducted a consultation exercise about the future of Queen’s Counsel. The QC Selection Panel was the result of that consultation. The first new awards of QC and QC honoris causa were made in October 2006.

Contact us

If you would like any more information about honorary silk or how to make a nomination, please feel free to contact us by phone on 020 3334 4220, or by email: nalini.deen@justice.gsi.gov.uk