(This note is not part of the Rules.)
These Rules prescribe the Crown Court remuneration for solicitors and counsel assigned under Articles 29 or 36(2) of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981.
The main body of the Rules deals with the manner in which costs are to be determined and paid. Those provisions draw to a large extent on the Legal Aid in Criminal Proceedings (Costs) Rules (Northern Ireland) 1992, which relate to criminal representation provided under Part III of the 1981 Order, and which are being superseded by these Rules insofar as they prescribe the costs payable for proceedings in the Crown Court.
Schedule 1 deals with the standard fees which shall be payable for most cases in the Crown Court. Initial determinations in such cases will be undertaken by the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission. Schedule 2 provides for special hourly rates of payment in very high cost cases, in respect of which determinations will be undertaken by the taxing master. A system of redeterminations and appeals is provided enabling solicitors and counsel to challenge the fees determined in a particular case.