The "B.A.R." Treaty
The American Bar Association was organized in 1878 to "advance the science of jurisprudence, promote the administration of justice and uniformity of legislation and of judicial decision throughout the Nation, uphold the honor of the profession of the law, encourage cordial intercourse among the members of the American Bar and to correlate the activities of the Bar organizations of the respective States on a representative basis, in the interest of the legal profession and of the public throughout the United States" – as stated in Article 1 of the American Bar Association's Constitution.
Simeon Baldwin of Connecticut decided to create the American Bar Association possibly with the urging of some Southern lawyers. Baldwin was the main framer of the constitution for the new company and Francis Rawle met him in Saratoga Springs, New York, along with about seventy–five other men to form the Association. While they had about a thousand members by 1892, they were not much more than a social organization with 75 to 100 men attending the annual meetings. By 1904, their numbers had doubled and then doubled again by 1913. Corporate law was the focus and the American Law Institute was founded. The Association developed uniform state laws and instituted a Canon of Ethics.
According to some, the bar is a term for the wall or gate in a courtroom that separates the spectators and litigants from the area reserved for the legal professionals and participants who have been called up before the judge. In the United Kingdom or Great Britain, the bar refers to the organization limited to "barristers." An important note is that other types of English lawyers are called "solicitors" and are not members of a bar association. In most courts, the bar is recognized as the "barring" furniture that divides the courtroom.
In 1947,The United States made a Treaty with the United Nations which allowed the UN to be headquartered in the District of Columbia. Because there is mention of the American Bar Association within that treaty, some sovereigns and nationals teach that the bar is an acronym for the "British Accreditation Registrar." However, the company named "British Acreditation Registrar" in London, examines a variety of industries and makes certain they are conforming to strict procedures and technical competance for certificates, test reports, and inspections. In short, they audit the auditors.
In conclusion, while there is indeed a British Accreditation Registrar in England, this company is not the same as the Bar Associations that legal professionals join.
The United Nations Treaty of 1947 can be accessed here: https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%2011/volume-11-I-147-English.pdf
Resources
Rogers, James G. 1928. Fifty Years of the American Bar Association. American Bar Association Journal p. 521–526. [Accessed from http://www.jstor.org/stable/25707502].
various. 2017. British Accreditation Registrar. [Accessed from BAR https://bar-registrars.org/about-us].