Legal Definitions - preaudience

Preaudience refers to a traditional privilege in English courts that grants a senior barrister the right to be heard by the court before other, more junior barristers. This means that if multiple barristers wish to address the judge on a particular matter, the most senior barrister present will typically have priority to speak first. This seniority is often determined by their rank, such as being a King's Counsel (KC), or by their length of service at the Bar.

• Example 1: Routine Procedural Hearing

  Imagine a complex commercial lawsuit involving several different companies, each represented by their own barrister. During a preliminary hearing to discuss administrative matters like setting deadlines for exchanging documents, three barristers all indicate they wish to make a brief statement to the judge regarding the proposed schedule. One of these barristers is a King's Counsel (KC), while the other two are more junior. Due to the principle of preaudience, the King's Counsel would be called upon to address the judge first, presenting their client's views on the schedule before the other two barristers are given the opportunity to speak.

• Example 2: Multiple Urgent Applications

  On a busy morning in court, a judge is scheduled to hear several urgent applications from different legal teams. Barrister A, a highly experienced King's Counsel, has an urgent application for an injunction to prevent a company from destroying critical evidence. Barrister B, a more junior barrister, also has an urgent application concerning a child's welfare that day. Both applications are time-sensitive. Under the rule of preaudience, Barrister A, being the more senior barrister, would typically have their application heard by the judge before Barrister B, even if Barrister B's application was filed earlier or is equally critical.

• Example 3: Addressing a Point of Law in Trial

  Consider a high-profile criminal trial where both the prosecution and defense teams consist of multiple barristers. During the trial, a complex point of law arises, and the judge invites submissions from counsel. Both the senior King's Counsel leading the prosecution team and a junior barrister from the defense team rise simultaneously to offer their legal arguments. The principle of preaudience dictates that the senior King's Counsel, regardless of which side they represent, has the right to address the court first on that point of law, before the junior defense barrister.