The UK Bar Standards Handbook provides that if barristers receive appropriate instructions from a client, they are required to accept the instructions irrespective of the identity of the client, the nature of the case and whether the client is paying privately or is publicly funded. This is the so-called cab rank rule, referring to the principle that at a taxi rank, taxis must take the next passenger inline regardless of who they are or where they want to go.

One of the remarkable aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been how brilliantly science has responded: in tracing the genome of the virus, in understanding how it spreads and in developing vaccines and medical treatments for COVID-19. Yet these scientific gains have not been available to all. Article 15(1)(b) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights guarantees that: “everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of scientific progress.” And, of course, this right extends to all scientific discoveries.