The Youth Proceedings Advocacy Review

ICPR was commissioned to carry out the Youth Proceedings Advocacy Review by the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation. The review had a number of components including a survey of advocates, interviews with a range of youth justice practitioners, and interviews with young defendants. The findings reveal that the quality of advocacy in youth proceedings is mixed, and that most advocates practising in the Youth Court lack specialist training for this role. It is also clear that there are many aspects of court culture and the wider youth justice system which hamper the work of advocates - including the low status of the Youth Court, and the formality and complexity of language used at court.

This project was completed in October 2015.