Litigants in person in civil proceedings: Part IV barristers’ perspectives

In previous articles in this series, the authors have identified and discussed the challenges posed by self-representation both for litigants and for other stakeholders in the civil justice system; highlighted gaps in knowledge about litigants in person and charted a course for further empirical research; reported upon findings of a survey of solicitors conducted to elicit their views on the issues raised by self-representation, and considered specific issues relating to the recovery of costs. The purpose of this fourth article is to report upon findings generated by a survey of the barristers' profession in Hong Kong, which was designed to gather information about the issues raised by self-representation from the perspective of barristers acting and appearing in court for represented parties.