Extensive Definition
A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior
member of an Inn of
Court. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher
can be elected while still a barrister (usually, but not
always, Queen's
Counsel), in recognition of the contribution that the barrister
has made to the life of the Inn or to the law. Others become
benchers as a matter of course when appointed as a High Court
Judges. The Inn may elect non-members as honorary benchers -
for example, distinguished judges from other countries, eminent
non-lawyers or members of the Royal
Family.
The most senior bencher of each Inn is the
Treasurer, a
position which is held for one year only. While succession to the
post of Treasurer may once have been dependent purely on seniority,
this is no longer the case. The Treasurer is elected.
The practices and regulations vary from Inn to
Inn, but the benchers are the ultimate governing body of the
relevant Inn. The benchers govern the finances of the Inn, and they
alone have the authority to admit students to the Bar, to call
students to the Bar, and to elect other benchers. Today, the
benchers of the four Inns have common standards agreed with the
Bar
Council. They have the power to discipline members of their Inn
by suspending or expelling them from membership of the Inn, and by
disbarring or disbenching them. Disciplinary duties are now shared
with the
Council of the Inns of Court, the Bar
Standards Board
http://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/and its Complaints
Committee (formerly known as the Professional Conduct and
Complaints Committee).
Historically, the most junior student barristers
(known as "inner barristers") were only permitted to watch moot trials and stood within the
bar of the mock
courtroom. More qualified barristers (known as "outer" or
"utter" barristers) were permitted to join the argument and stood
outside the bar. The most senior barristers were permitted to sit
at the edge of the room. This third class of barristers became
known as "Benchers" or "Masters of the Bench".
The terms bencher and Treasurer originated in
England, but they are also in use by the legal profession in
Canada, for example by the
Law Society of Upper Canada and the
Law Society of British Columbia.
References
- Halsbury's Laws of England, Barristers, para.431