The Legal Aid in Criminal and Care Proceedings (Costs) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 1996

Amendments to the Legal Aid in Criminal and Care Proceedings (Costs) Regulations 1989

10.  Regulation 9 shall be amended as follows: —

(a) the following paragraphs shall be substituted for paragraphs (2) and (3): —

“(2) In any proceedings specified in paragraph 2 or 3 of Schedule 3, the appropriate authority shall allow a graduated or fixed fee calculated in accordance with that Schedule in respect of all such work allowed by it as falls into the classes specified in paragraph 6(2) of that Schedule.

(2A) Where in any proceedings specified in paragraph 2 of Schedule 3, the trial judge makes adverse observations concerning the advocate’s conduct of the case, the appropriate authority may reduce any fee which would otherwise be payable in accordance with that Schedule by such proportion as it shall see fit, having first given the advocate the opportunity to make representations about the extent to which the fee should be reduced.

(3) Where it appears to the appropriate authority that the fixed fee allowed by Schedule 3 in respect of any proceedings specified in paragraph 3 of that Schedule would be inappropriate taking into account all the relevant circumstances of the case, it may instead allow fees in accordance with paragraphs (4) and (5) of this regulation.”;

(b) in paragraphs (4) and (5), for “standard fee” there shall be substituted “graduated or fixed fee”.