The Bar of Northern Ireland hosted the fourth Joint Bar Council meeting in Belfast on Friday, bringing together representatives from Bar Councils of Ireland and Northern Ireland.

Special guests included Chantal-Aimée Doerries QC, chairman of the Bar of England and Wales; Northern Ireland Executive junior minister Alastair Ross MLA; and Paul Frew MLA, chair of Stormont’s justice committee.

Speaking at the event, Gerry McAlinden QC, chair of the Bar Council of Northern Ireland, stressed the vital importance of collaboration between the respective Bars.

Mr McAlinden said: “We may represent different legal jurisdictions; yet despite these differences, we have shared professional commitments – in the representation of our memberships, our commitment to independence and the rule of law and the promotion and protection of access to justice for all.”

He acknowledged the challenges facing the profession on both sides of the border, but praised the emerging innovations in widening access to education and training, delivering support for young practitioners and improving equality at the Bar.

The meeting at the Royal Courts of Justice was followed by a lecture on ‘Constitutional Common Law: The protection of Rights’ by Lord Kerr, Justice of the UK Supreme Court and Former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, and dinner at the Ulster Museum.