The independence of the Bar is as valuable to the client as it is to the public welfare. To the client, it gives an assurance of such accuracy as knowledge and skill can contribute; to the community, it gives the service of applying the law in the manner in which the law is intended to act. It is independence that makes the barrister essential to the administration of justice according to law. Independence that cannot be bought in a market; independence that will not be bartered for money, or for privilege, status or favour or even for a momentary success. This is the characteristic that, more than any other, stamps the Bar as a profession and not a service industry.
The Hon Sir Gerard Brennan AC KBE, Former Chief Justice of Australia (18 August 1996)
Independence of the Bar and the Imperative of Protection
As Justice Brennan emphasised in 1996, the independence of the Bar is essential not only to the client but to the public welfare, ensuring both the integrity of legal representation and the proper functioning of the law itself. Such independence must remain inviolate: it cannot be compromised for financial gain, status, or expediency. It underpins the administration of justice and sustains the rule of law. Protecting lawyers from intimidation or interference is therefore not only a professional concern, but a societal imperative — one that recent events around the world starkly illustrate.
On 13 February 2026, attorney-at-law Buddhika Mallawa Arachchi and his wife were shot dead in broad daylight in a supermarket car park in Akuregoda, Sri Lanka, apparently by two assailants who fled the scene. Authorities are examining whether the attorney’s professional engagements, including past representation of clients allegedly linked to organised crime, may have been a factor in the killing. The Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) condemned the attack as part of a broader threat to lawyers, and called for urgent investigation, accountability, and stronger protections for the legal profession in Sri Lanka.
On 12 February 2026, prominent Tunisian lawyer Ahmed Souab was arbitrarily detained, with Human Rights Watch reporting that the charges against him were linked to his defence of political opponents and involvement in human rights cases. While the allegations remain contested, this unjustified detention underscores the vulnerability of legal practitioners who represent unpopular or politically sensitive clients, and how such actions can erode public confidence in justice systems.
These disturbing incidents are far from isolated or contemporary phenomena. History is replete with examples of lawyers being threatened, harassed, or even killed for fulfilling their professional obligations and upholding the rule of law. The worldwide legal community formally recognises these risks by commemorating the International Day of the Endangered Lawyer on 24 January each year.
By observing this day, the profession underscores the global prevalence and persistence of such attacks, and that without clear, comprehensive, and institutionalised protection of the legal profession, the very foundations of justice and societal stability are imperilled.
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The CLA stands in solidarity with lawyers facing persecution, and calls on Commonwealth nations — and the international community — to transform the “Luxembourg Standard” from principle into practice. All lawyers and their professional associations must be able to discharge their professional duties safely and independently, without fear of reprisal, so that justice, the rule of law, and democratic governance are truly protected everywhere.
