In a move to bring the civil justice system into the 21st century, the Lord Chief Justice, Lord Woolf, is to announce a six-month trial of barristers and judges abandoning their wigs during civil court hearings. This revolutionary move follows prolonged consultation within the profession, and sees a break away from more than 200 years of wig wearing tradition.
Of course, the arguments for and against keeping the wigs in place are well known. The pro-wig faction would cite the distinction of the Bar and dignity of the profession for keeping the wigs in place, as well as the public perception of justice ‘being seen to be done’ in the traditional sense, as well as wigs providing a certain anonymity to the wearer in court.
