The Criminal Defence Service (Recovery of Defence Costs Orders) (Amendment) Regulations 2008

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of these Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Criminal Defence Service (Recovery of Defence Costs Orders) Regulations 2001 (“the 2001 Regulations”). The 2001 Regulations provide for the recovery of such part of the costs of the representation provided to a funded defendant in criminal proceedings as is reasonable in all the circumstances of the case.

These Regulations introduce discretion for the court to make no Recovery of Defence Costs Order in certain circumstances. They also provide that no such order shall be made in respect of funded defendants who are in receipt of certain benefits, or who are under 18, and clarify that no such order shall be made where a funded defendant has assets or income below a certain level. The effect of these Regulations is also that a Recovery of Defence Costs Order can now be made in relation to appeals against sentence in the Crown Court (regulation 5).

These Regulations provide that when assessing the funded defendant’s financial circumstances, the court may take account of the value of resources or expectations of which the funded defendant has deprived themself (regulation 8). They also clarify the circumstances in which the income and capital of the funded defendant’s partner can be taken into account (regulation 9(b)).

They provide that the judge may take account of assets or income above a certain level when determining the amount of the order (regulation 9(c)), and require that the judge give reasons (regulation 11).

These Regulations make other minor changes.

A full regulatory impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs of business and the voluntary sector is available from the Criminal Legal Aid Strategy Division, Ministry of Justice, 54 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QW and is also available at www.justice.gov.uk/publications/cp2007.htm.