Janet:

Will the Counsel General make a statement on the work of the Commission on Justice in Wales?

Counsel General:

The Commission on Justice in Wales is due to publish its report on Thursday 24 October, and I look forward to reading the report.

Janet:

Diolch. The Commission on Justice in Wales has published its recommendation regarding the law council for Wales. Its intended aims are to be commended, especially the promoting of assisting students in their education and training as future practitioners. The details of the proposed council highlight that it will help Welsh law schools to provide their students with the necessary education and training to thrive in practice. Now, according to UCAS, this academic year 890 undergraduate students from Wales started law courses across the UK. For example, universities such as Chester, Birmingham and Bristol are key centres for students who then go on to practice in Wales. Will you clarify whether the commission will have an influence on education and practice outside of Wales, and, if not, explain whether you accept that this is potentially negative news for awareness of Welsh law that does need addressing? 

Counsel General:

Well, as I say, in relation to the particular recommendations that the commission will be making, we await to see what those recommendations are. I think it would be inappropriate to prejudge the work of an independent commission in that sense. She makes an important point about where students study the law and where they end up practising. She'll also know, I think, that Welsh law schools teach law to students from all over the UK and across the world. So, this is a matter where people study inside and outside Wales and practice in a number of settings.

But the point in relation to familiarity with Welsh law, which I know is at the heart of her question, is one which I'm very seized of, not least given the discussion we've had elsewhere and in this Chamber on other occasions in relation to the accessibility of Welsh law generally, and certainly in discussions I've had with the law schools, since my appointment as Counsel General, I have sought to look for opportunities to impress upon them how important it is to ensure that Welsh law plays its full part in the syllabus and prospectus of university courses, not, as it were, solely from the point of view of constitutional aspects but also the substantive law. And, as we here legislate more and more, I'm confident that the proportion of law taught in law schools in Wales that Welsh law represents will increase.