Article 9
SCHEDULE 3N.I.REPRESENTATION (LOWER COURTS)
PART 1 N.I.General
1. This Schedule applies to the determination of the remuneration payable to representatives for providing representation (lower courts).N.I.
2. Where the remuneration or fees properly chargeable for the representation including charges for disbursements exceed any contribution payable by the client to the solicitor under Part 3 of the Financial Regulations together with the value of any charge arising under Article 17(7) of the 2003 Order, the solicitor shall submit a claim to the Department requesting payment of the deficiency.N.I.
3.—(1) The Department shall determine the claim submitted under Article 8 in accordance with the rates or fees set out in the relevant Table in Part 2 or 3 of this Schedule, as applicable, and pay the assessed deficiency, if any, to the solicitor.N.I.
(2) In this paragraph “assessed deficiency” means the amount by which the sum allowed to the representatives by the Department in assessing the claim under sub-paragraph (1) exceeds any contribution payable by the client to the solicitor under Part 3 of the Financial Regulations together with the value of any charge arising under Article 17(7) of the 2003 Order.
PART 2 N.I.Family and Children Order Proceedings
Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 M1N.I.
Solicitor's remuneration can be claimed on the basis of either Hourly Rates (Table 1) or Composite Fees (Table 2), at the election of the solicitor
Table 1:
Solicitor – Hourly Rates
| Work Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Preparation | £58 per hour |
| Letters Written | £3.65 per item |
| Letters Received | £1.85 per item |
| Telephone Calls | £3.65 per call |
| Non Standard Telephone Call (over 5 minutes) | £58 per hour |
| Advocacy – Solicitor Alone | £64 per hour |
| Consultation with Counsel | £32.50 per hour |
| Advocacy – Solicitor attending Counsel | £32.50 per hour |
Table 2:
Solicitor – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| Private Law | £250 |
| Public Law | £400 |
Table 3:
Counsel – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| On an unopposed application or a procedural issue | Standard £76.25 Maximum £127 |
| On the trial of a cause or matter, or the hearing of an application: | |
| -Where the hearing lasts for up to half a day | Standard £140 Maximum £268 |
| - Full Day | Standard £317.75 Maximum £508.50 |
| -Refresher | £140 for each additional day |
| Consultation | £35.50 per hour |
| Complex items of work (opinion, affidavits) | £82.75 per item |
| All other written work | £50.25 per item |
Marginal Citations
The Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 M2N.I.
Solicitor's remuneration can be claimed on the basis of either Hourly Rates (Table 4) or Composite Fees (Table 5), at the election of the solicitor
Table 4:
Solicitor – Hourly Rates
| Work Type | Rate |
|---|---|
| Preparation | £58 per hour |
| Letters Written | £3.65 per item |
| Letters Received | £1.85 per item |
| Telephone Calls | £3.65 per call |
| Non Standard Telephone Call (over 5 minutes) | £58 per hour |
| Advocacy – Solicitor Alone | £64 per hour |
| Consultation with Counsel | £32.50 per hour |
| Advocacy – Solicitor attending Counsel | £32.50 per hour |
Table 5:
Solicitor – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| Non-Molestation Order | £352 |
| Occupation Order | £352 |
| Non-Molestation/Occupation application withdrawn with undertakings | £352 |
| Non-Molestation and Occupation Order | £416 |
| Second Hearing – Contested | £192 |
| Second Hearing – Uncontested | £96 |
| Variation/Discharges – Contested | £352 |
| Variation/Discharges – Uncontested | £192 |
| Adjournments | £30 |
| Nominal Adjournment Fee – no court attendance | £15 |
| Withdrawn | £30 |
| Summons not served | £30 |
| Letters Written | £3.65 per item |
| Letters Received | £1.85 per item |
| Telephone Calls | £3.65 per call |
| Non-routine telephone calls in excess of 5 minutes | £58 per hour |
Table 6:
Counsel – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| On an unopposed application or a procedural issue | Standard £76.25 Maximum £127 |
| On the trial of a cause or matter, or the hearing of an application: | |
| - Where the hearing lasts for up to half a day | Standard £140 Maximum £268 |
| - Full Day | Standard £317.75 Maximum £508.50 |
| - Refresher | £140 for each additional day |
| Consultation | £35.50 per hour |
| Complex items of work (opinion, affidavits) | £82.75 per item |
| All other written work | £50.25 per item |
Marginal Citations
Domestic Proceedings (Northern Ireland) Order 1980
M3Table 7:
Solicitor – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| Separation and Maintenance | £140 |
| Variation of Maintenance | £83.50 |
| Case withdrawn at any stage before hearing and up to strikeout | £66 |
| Part Hearings | £29 |
| Adjourned Hearings: | |
| - less than 20 minutes | £15.50 |
| - in excess of 20 minutes | £29 |
| Nominal Adjournment Fee – no court attendance | £12 |
| Dismissed Cases | £124.50 |
| Letters and telephone calls (not included in the basic fee) | £3.35 per item |
| Discontinued cases (no proceedings issued) | |
| - advice less than one hour | £45 |
| - advice of one hour | £50 |
| - advice in excess of one hour | £55 |
Table 8:
Counsel – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| On an unopposed application or a procedural issue | Standard £76.25 Maximum £127 |
| On the trial of a cause or matter, or the hearing of an application: | |
| - Where the hearing lasts for up to half a day | Standard £140 Maximum £268 |
| - Full Day | Standard £317.75 Maximum £508.50 |
| - Refresher | £140 for each additional day |
| Consultation | £35.50 per hour |
| Complex items of work (opinions, affidavits) | £82.50 per hour |
| All other written work | £50.25 per item |
Marginal Citations
PART 3 N.I.Other Proceedings
Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 M4 and Terrorism Act 2000
Proceedings before the Mental Health Review Tribunal
Table 2:
Solicitor – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| Preparation and Negotiation | £330 |
| Representation at Tribunal | £370 (per half day, or part thereof) |
| Adjourned Hearing | £76.25 |
Hearings held under Article 10 or 11 of the Life Sentences (Northern Ireland) Order 2001
M6Table 3:
Solicitor – Hourly Rate
1 If additional hours are authorised by the Department, they are payable at the same rate. | |
| Work Type | Solicitor |
|---|---|
| Hourly fees for all work | £100 per hour up to a maximum fee of £8001 |
Table 4:
Counsel – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Junior Counsel | Senior Counsel |
|---|---|---|
| Composite fee | £2,666 | £4,000 |
Marginal Citations
Other hearings before the Parole Commissioners
Table 5:
Solicitor – Hourly Rate
1 If additional hours are authorised by the Department, they are payable at the same rate. | |
| Work Type | Solicitor |
|---|---|
| Hourly fees for all work | £100 per hour up to a maximum fee of £8001 |
Table 6:
Counsel – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Junior Counsel | Senior Counsel |
|---|---|---|
| Composite Fee | £3,000 | £4,500 |
Oral hearing before the Parole Commissioners under the Criminal Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2008
Marginal Citations
Proceedings under sections 295, 297, 298, 301 or 302 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
Table 8:
Solicitor – Composite Fees
1 The Composite Fee will remunerate a solicitor for all work associated with the particular case, excluding disbursements and VAT. The fee is taken to include up to the first 7 letters and telephone calls under 5 minutes. Any further letters or telephone calls can be claimed in addition to the composite fee provided they are itemised. | |
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| Composite Fee | £3521 |
| Second Hearing | £192 |
| Adjournment | £30 |
| Nominal Adjournment Fee – no court attendance | £15.50 |
| Withdrawn | £30 |
| Letters and telephone calls | £3.65 per item / call |
| Non-routine telephone calls | £58 per hour |
Table 9:
Counsel – Composite Fees
| Work Type | Composite Fee |
|---|---|
| On the trial of a cause or matter, or the hearing of an application | |
| – Where the hearing lasts for up to half a day | Standard £140 Maximum £268 |
| – Full Day | Standard £317.75 Maximum £508.50 |
| Part Hearing (standard) | £76.25 |
| Part Hearing (maximum) | £127 |
| Refresher | £140 for each additional day |
| Consultation | £35.50 per hour |
| Complex items of work (opinions, affidavit) | £82.75 per item |
| All other written work | £50.25 per item |
Proceedings regarding an order under sections 89, 90, 97, 100, 104, 108, 109, 114, 118, 123, 125 or 126 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 M8 and Proceedings under Articles 3 and 4 of the Anti-social Behaviour (Northern Ireland) Order 2004