(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order prescribes the remuneration payable to solicitors and counsel for providing civil legal services under Part 2 of the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.
The main body of this Order deals with the manner in which the remuneration is to be determined and paid. In part, the provisions draw on the corresponding provisions contained in subordinate legislation made under Part 2 of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981. Part 2 of the 1981 Order is being superseded by civil legal services as the new legislative framework for the public funding of legal services in civil matters.
Initial determinations in such cases will be undertaken by the Department of Justice. A system of redeterminations and appeals is provided for enabling solicitors and counsel to challenge the remuneration determined in a particular case.
Schedules 2 to 5 of this Order set out the levels of remuneration payable for the various categories of work involved, including the different forms of proceedings in each of the court tiers.
This Order also revokes the provisions regarding the costs payable to solicitors and counsel made under, or treated as made under, the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 (Article 1(2), together with Schedule 1).
This Order comes into operation on 1st April 2015.