Criminal Justice Act 1967

81 Payment of costs of legal aid.

(1) Where a legal aid order has been made for the giving of aid to a legally assisted person, the costs of the legal aid given to him shall be paid by whichever of the following methods is appropriate, that is to say—

(a) in the case of proceedings in a magistrates' court, they shall be paid out of the legal aid fund;

(b) in the case of appeals to quarter sessions, they shall be paid out of the general rate fund of the borough where the court appealed from was acting for a county borough, the general fund of the Greater London Council where it was acting for a London Commission area and in any other case the county fund;

(c) in the case of appeals to or from the Courts-Martial Appeal Court, they shall be paid by the Secretary of State; and

(d) in the case of any proceedings not falling within any of the foregoing paragraphs, they shall be paid out of the local funds out of which the costs of those proceedings are payable under the [1952 c. 48.] Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1952.

(2) Subject to regulations under section 83 of this Act, the costs of legal aid ordered to be given to a legally assisted person for the purpose of any proceedings shall include sums on account of the fees payable to any counsel or solicitor assigned to him and disbursements reasonably incurred by any such solicitor for or in connection with those proceedings.

(3) Costs required by this section to be paid in respect of any proceedings shall not include any sum in respect of allowances to witnesses attending to give evidence in those proceedings in any case where such allowances are payable under the provisions of any other enactment.

(4) Costs required by this section to be paid out of the legal aid fund shall be paid in like manner as costs which fall to be so paid under Part I of the [1949 c. 51.] Legal Aid and Advice Act 1949 and—

(a) the functions of the Law Society under that Part of that Act shall include securing the payment of costs so required and the recovery of sums due to the legal aid fund under this Part of this Act; and

(b) references to that Part of that Act in sections 8(3) to (5), 9(2) to (9) and 11 of that Act (administration and financing of the legal aid scheme under that Part of that Act) shall be construed as including references to this Part of this Act, so far as it relates to the payment of costs and the recovery of sums as aforesaid.

(5) The costs of any proceedings before a court, or any matters preliminary or incidental to any such proceedings, which are required by this section to be paid out of any fund mentioned in subsection (1)(b) or (d) of this section shall be treated for the purpose of the Costs in Criminal Cases Act 1952 as if they had been ordered by that court to be paid out of local funds.

(6) Costs required by this section to be paid out of any fund mentioned in the said subsection (1)(b) or (d) shall be repaid by the Secretary of State, in accordance with arrangements made by him with the approval of the Treasury, to the local authority by which the fund is maintained.

(7) A local authority shall not be entitled to any payment under this section on account of sums included in an order for payment of costs which is enforceable by the authority, except in so far as the Secretary of State is satisfied that those sums cannot be recovered by virtue of that order.