It can be confusing for many who work within the legal sector to understand exactly what rights of audience they may have.
In particular, even members of CILEX do not know their own rights of audience. I also find that, in particulars, one should know and understand where there rights of audience comes from.
Siobhan Tatun of the CPS gave me the idea to set out those rights of audience in an easy and accessible table.
| Membership standing | Right of Audience (Law/Statute that provides that right of audience) |
| Non-Fellow CILEX member | Civil and family hearings Any hearing that is considered to be ‘in chambers’ providing that:- -The work includes assisting in the conduct of litigation -That assistance is under instructions generally or in relation to those proceedings by an individual -That individual is supervising (for family matters, it cannot be before a bench including any lay magistrates) In accordance with schedule 3 of the Legal Services Act 2007 (para 7) Civil small claims track hearings Any small claims hearing where the client attends, it is not a hearing that takes place after a Judgment or in respect of a county court appeal brought against any decision made by a District Judge in the proceedings. In accordance with the Lay Representatives (Rights of Audience) Order 1999. Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
| CILEX Fellow | Civil small claims track hearings All matters within the small claims track (not limited to the Lay Representatives (Rights of Audience) Order 1999) as per PD27A paragraphs 3.1 and 3.2 3.1 In this paragraph: (1) a lawyer means a barrister, a solicitor or a legal executive employed by a solicitor or any other person authorised under the Legal Services Act 2007 to act as a litigator or advocate; and 3.2 (1) A party may present his own case at a hearing or a lawyer or lay representative may present it for him. (2) The Lay Representatives (Right of Audience) Order 1999 provides that a lay representative may not exercise any right of audience:– (a) where his client does not attend the hearing; (b) at any stage after judgment; or (c) on any appeal brought against any decision made by the district judge in the proceedings. Civil and family hearings Any hearing that is considered to be ‘in chambers’ providing that:- -The work includes assisting in the conduct of litigation -That assistance is under instructions generally or in relation to those proceedings by an individual -That individual is supervising (for family matters, it cannot be before a bench including any lay magistrates) In accordance with schedule 3 of the Legal Services Act 2007 (para 7) Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
| CILEX Advocate/CILEX Advocate and Litigator in Civil | Can appear in all matters in the County Court save for family (because they are, for all intents and purposes, heard in the ‘Family Court’ not the County Court). Can also appear in the High Court ‘in chambers’, the magistrates court’ for civil and enforcement matters only Tribunals listed in Schedule 6 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 In addition, the Coroner’s Court This is in accordance with the power under s13(2), schedule 2 and schedule 4 of the Legal Service Act 2007 which grants CILEX Regulation Limited the power to authorise advocates particular rights of audience Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
| CILEX Advocate/CILEX Advocate and Litigator in Family | Can appear in chambers in hearings in both Family Court and High Court, specifically in all family-related proceedings. Also appear in the Family Court and including hearings before a lay bench. In addition, the Coroner’s Court This is in accordance with the power under s13(2), schedule 2 and schedule 4 of the Legal Service Act 2007 which grants CILEX Regulation Limited the power to authorise advocates particular rights of audience Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
| CILEX Advocate/CILEX Advocate and Litigator in Criminal | Can appear in adult Magistrates’ Courts and Youth Courts for any criminal matters. They also have the right to appear in the Crown Court or High Court for bail applications and appeals from lower courts, provided they previously represented the defendant. The Coroner’s Court This is in accordance with the power under s13(2), schedule 2 and schedule 4 of the Legal Service Act 2007 which grants CILEX Regulation Limited the power to authorise advocates particular rights of audience Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
| CILEX Immigration Practitioner | Appear in First-Tier and Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) save for Judicial Review hearings, which are reserved to higher rights advocates. This is in accordance with the power under s13(2), schedule 2 and schedule 4 of the Legal Service Act 2007 which grants CILEX Regulation Limited the power to authorise advocates particular rights of audience Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
| CILEX Higher Rights Advocate/CILEX higher Rights Advocate and Litigator in Civil | Everything that a CILEX Advocate/CILEX Advocate and Litigator in Civil proceedings can do, but they can also:- Appear in the High Court in civil matters, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
| CILEX Higher Rights Advocate/CILEX Higher Rights Advocate and Litigator in Criminal | Everything that a CILEX Advocate/CILEX Advocate and Litigator in Civil proceedings can do, but they can also:- Appear in the Crown Court, High Court in civil matters, the Court of Appeal and Supreme Court Employment hearings Any employment tribunal hearing up to and including the Employment Appeals Tribunal in accordance with s6(1)(c) of the Employment Tribunals Act 1996 s6 |
A brief reminder that there is definition of ‘in chambers’ in either CPR or FPR. Instead, practitioners use the only guidance currently available is the decision of Halborg v Apple (UK) Limited & Another [2022].
After the Court of Appeal remitted the appeal back to County Court (after determining that the appeal was purely academic) HHJ Backhouse, who has since retired, determined that the courts should follow the definition of what was ‘in chambers’ in accordance with the County Court Rules 1981. Essentially, all applications, save for where Ordered or the rules stated otherwise (such as injunctions) were heard in chambers.
Members who rely on the schedule 3 exemptions should always be cautious, but appreciate that applications and CMC have regularly been attended by unqualfied fee earners with no issues on the presumption that schedule 3 applied in those circumstances.
Information
AJH Advocacy Limited, a Limited Company which is regulated by the Bar Standards Boards (entity number 190758), ceases trading on the 12th January 2026.
From the 12th January 2026 and onwards, Alec Hancock will practice as a Barrister at Magdalen Chambers in Exeter. For instructions on matters on or after 12th January 2026, please contact Magdalen Chambers via clerks@magdalenchambers.co.uk or by telephone on 01392 285 200.