Category talk:Senior Counsel

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material from 2010[edit]

This may well belong somewhere but not on category page, so deleted (Crusoe8181 (talk) 09:29, 2 January 2010 (UTC)).[reply]

The designation of a practitioner as a Senior Counsel is intended to recognize those whose standing and achievements justify an expectation on the part of the public and the judiciary that they will provide outstanding services, as counsel, to the administration of justice.

In Australia before 2000 such barristers were known as a Q.C. or Queen's Counsel. Q.C.s were appointed by the Governor of the State, upon advice from the Attorney-General, usually after consultation with the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. In 2000, the Attorney-General caused the description of Queen’s Counsel to be amended to Senior Counsel (S.C.) for the State of Victoria. In 2004 the Victorian Government announced that no further appointments would be made by it. The Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria thereupon passed Rules of Court establishing its own equivalent rank of Senior Counsel who are now appointed by the Chief Justice after an exhaustive process of consultation with members of the profession and the judiciary. The Chief Justice has dictated that Senior Counsel must be, and be seen by the judiciary and by their peers to be, deserving of such recognition. The Chief Justice has also determined that the qualities required to a high degree for appointment as Senior Counsel are learning and skill, integrity and independence, maturity and a sense of public responsibility.

The initials S.C. after the name of a barrister indicate that he or she is a senior counsel who may otherwise be referred to as Silk as they traditionally wear silk robes to Court. They are often distinguished from junior counsel by a rosette on the back of their robe. Silks are members of what is referred to as the Inner Bar. All other barristers, irrespective of age and seniority, are referred to as junior barristers. Usually Silks are assisted in their work both inside and outside court by a barrister from the junior bar.