The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013
| Year | 2013 |
2013 No. 435
Legal Aid And Advice, England And Wales
The Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013
Made 26th February 2013
Laid before Parliament 28th February 2013
Coming into force 1st April 2013
The Lord Chancellor makes these Regulations1in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 2(3), 5(2) and (4), 30(2) and 41(1) to (3) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 20122.
Citation and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 and shall come into force on 1st April 2013.
Interpretation
2.—(1) In these Regulations—
“the Act” means the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012;
“advocate” means a barrister, a solicitor advocate or a solicitor who is exercising their automatic rights of audience in the Crown Court;
“appropriate officer” means—
(a) in the case of proceedings in the civil division of the Court of Appeal, the head of the civil appeals office;
(b) in the case of proceedings in the criminal division of the Court of Appeal, the registrar of criminal appeals;
(c) in the case of proceedings in the Crown Court, the Lord Chancellor;
(d) in respect of advice or assistance as to an appeal from the Crown Court to the Court of Appeal (except in the case of an appeal under section 9(11) of the Criminal Justice Act 19873(preparatory hearings)) where, on the advice of any representative instructed, notice of appeal is given, or application for leave to appeal is made, whether or not such appeal is later abandoned, the registrar of criminal appeals;
(e) in respect of advice or assistance as to an appeal to the Courts-Martial Appeal Court, the registrar of criminal appeals;
(f) in respect of advice or assistance as to an appeal from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court, where the appeal is not lodged with the Supreme Court, the registrar of criminal appeals; and
(g) in any other case, the Lord Chancellor,
and, in any case, includes an officer designated by the person who is the appropriate officer by virtue of paragraphs (a) to (g) to act on his behalf for the purposes of these Regulations;
“assisted person” means an individual in whose favour a section 16 determination has been made;
“fee earner” means a litigator, or person employed by a litigator, who undertakes work on a case;
“instructed advocate” means—
(a) where the section 16 determination provides for representation by a single advocate, the first barrister or solicitor advocate instructed in the case, who has primary responsibility for the case; or
(b) where the section 16 determination provides for representation by more than one advocate, each of—
(i) the leading instructed advocate; and
(ii) the led instructed advocate;
“leading instructed advocate” means the first leading barrister or solicitor advocate instructed in the case who has primary responsibility for those aspects of a case undertaken by a leading advocate;
“led instructed advocate” means the first led barrister or solicitor advocate instructed in the case who has primary responsibility for those aspects of the case undertaken by a led advocate;
“litigator” means the person referred to in the representation order as representing an assisted person, being a solicitor, firm of solicitors or other appropriately qualified person.
“related proceedings” means—
(a) two or more sets of proceedings involving the same defendant which are prepared, heard or dealt with together; or
(b) proceedings involving more than one defendant which arise out of the same incident, so that the defendants are charged, tried or disposed of together;
“representation order” means a document which records a section 16 determination;
“representative” means a litigator or an advocate including, where appropriate, an instructed advocate;
“section 16 determination” means a determination made under section 16 of the Act that an individual qualifies for representation for the purposes of criminal proceedings;
“senior solicitor” means a solicitor who, in the judgement of the appropriate officer, has the skill, knowledge and experience to deal with the most difficult and complex cases;
“solicitor advocate” means a solicitor who has obtained a higher courts advocacy qualification in accordance with regulations and rules of conduct of the Law Society;
“solicitor, legal executive or fee earner of equivalent experience” means a solicitor, Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives or equivalent senior fee earner who, in the judgement of the appropriate officer, has good knowledge and experience of the conduct of criminal cases;
“trainee solicitor or fee earner of equivalent experience” means a trainee solicitor or other fee earner who is not a Fellow of the Institute of Legal Executives, who, in the judgement of the appropriate officer, carries out the routine work on a case;
“Very High Cost Case” means a case in which a section 16 determination has been made and which the Director classifies as a Very High Cost Case on the grounds that—
(a) in relation to fees claimed by litigators—
(i) if the case were to proceed to trial, the trial would in the opinion of the Director be likely to last for more than 40 days and the Director considers that there are no exceptional circumstances which make it unsuitable to be dealt with under an individual case contract for Very High Cost Cases made by the Lord Chancellor under section 2(1) of the Act; or
(ii) if the case were to proceed to trial, the trial would in the opinion of the Director be likely to last no fewer than 25 and no more than 40 days and the Director considers that there are circumstances which make it suitable to be dealt with under an individual case contract for Very High Cost Cases made by the Lord Chancellor under section 2(1) of the Act;
(b) in relation to fees claimed by advocates, if the case were to proceed to trial, the trial would in the opinion of the Director be likely to last for more than 60 days and the Director considers that there are no exceptional circumstances which make it unsuitable to be dealt with under an individual case contract for Very High Cost Cases made by the Lord Chancellor under section 2(1) of the Act.
(2) The fees and rates set out in the Schedules to these Regulations are exclusive of value added tax.
(3) A function of the Lord Chancellor or Director under these Regulations may be exercised by, or by an employee of, a person authorised for that purpose by the Lord Chancellor or Director respectively4.
Scope
3.—(1) Regulations 5(2), 10 and 14(1) apply to proceedings in magistrates’ courts and to proceedings in the Crown Court.
(2) Regulation 8 and Schedule 4 apply to proceedings in magistrates’ courts, to proceedings in the Crown Court and to proceedings in the High Court.
(3) Regulations 16 and 31 and Schedule 5 apply to proceedings in magistrates’ courts, to proceedings in the Crown Court and to proceedings in the Court of Appeal.
(4) Regulations 4, 5(1) and (3) to (8), 13, 14(2) to (9), 15, 17 to 24 and 28 to 30 and Schedules 1 and 2 apply to proceedings in the Crown Court only.
(5) Regulations 9, 11 and 25 to 27, apply to proceedings in the Crown Court and to proceedings in the Court of Appeal.
(6) Regulation 6 and Schedule 3 apply to proceedings in the Court of Appeal only.
(7) Regulation 7 applies to proceedings in the Supreme Court only.
(8) With the exception of regulation 12 and paragraphs 13(8) and (9) of Schedule 2, these Regulations do not apply to Very High Cost Cases.
(9) For the purpose of these Regulations, any reference to the Court of Appeal includes as appropriate a reference to—
(a)
(a) the criminal division of the Court of Appeal;
(b)
(b) the civil division of the Court of Appeal;
(c)
(c) the Courts-Martial Appeal Court; and
(d)
(d) a Divisional Court of the High Court.
Claims for fees by advocates – Crown Court
4.—(1) Claims for fees by an instructed advocate in proceedings in the Crown Court must be made and determined in accordance with the provisions of Schedule 1 to these Regulations.
(2) A claim for fees under this regulation and Schedule 1 must be made by each instructed advocate.
(3) Subject to regulation 31, a claim by an instructed advocate for fees in respect of work done pursuant to a section 16 determination must not be entertained unless the instructed advocate submits it within three months of the conclusion of the proceedings to which it relates.
(4) An instructed advocate must submit a claim for fees to the appropriate officer in such form and manner as the appropriate officer may direct.
(5) An instructed advocate must supply such further information and documents as the appropriate officer may require.
(6) Where a confiscation hearing under Part 2 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 20025(confiscation: England and Wales), section 2 of the Drug Trafficking Act 19946(confiscation orders) or section 71 of the Criminal Justice Act 19887(confiscation orders) is to be held more than 28 days after—
(a)
(a) the conclusion of the trial to which the section 16 determination relates; or
(b)
(b) the entering of a guilty plea,
an instructed advocate may submit any claim for fees in respect of the trial or guilty plea as soon as the trial has concluded or the guilty plea has been entered.
(7) Where the section 16 determination provides for representation by—
(a)
(a) a single advocate other than a QC; or
(b)
(b) two or more advocates other than QC,
and a QC agrees to appear as the single advocate or as a leading junior, that QC must be treated for all the purposes of these Regulations as having been instructed in relation to that determination, and the remuneration of that QC must be determined as if the advocate were not a QC.
Claims for fees and disbursements by litigators –...
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