The High Court is unlikely to give judgment in the legal challenge to the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates before the end of term, due to the volume of evidence and complexity of the issue, the judge in the hearing, Lord Justice Leveson, said today.

At the end of a three-day hearing, Leveson, who had indicated at the start that he would rule before Christmas, said he had not expected the case to involve 17 lever-arch files of paperwork, such lengthy skeleton arguments and the amount of additional material served.

Admitting that he is not a 'master of all the points', he was 'not prepared to guarantee' judgment before the end of term, 20 December. 

The court is conducting a judicial review of the criminal advocacy accreditation scheme. The claimants argue that the scheme is incompatible with the independence of the judiciary, threatens judicial independence, is contrary to EU law and is disproportionate. They also argue that the Legal Service Board's decision to approve the scheme should be quashed on the basis of its role in designing it.