Dear colleague,

Following discussions between the Department of Justice and the Law Society of Ireland, a new scheme has been agreed for the payment of legal aid fees for the review of significant disclosure material in criminal cases to defence practitioners.

This is a ground-breaking achievement for the Society. It will be broadly welcomed as a positive development by members of the profession who have been seeking recognition for this essential work for some time.

Background

Any person charged with a criminal offence has a constitutional right to a fair trial. That right has many strands, including the right of the accused person to be fully informed of the case being made against them, which involves the disclosure of the evidence upon which those allegations are based to their legal representatives.

Recent years have seen an exponential increase in disclosure of evidence in criminal cases owing to the proliferation of smart phones, big data, the internet and the expansion of the use of surveillance technology such as CCTV. The Department of Justice acknowledged the extra work this increase in disclosure generates. The criminal legal aid scheme did not, however, provide a clear mechanism on how and on what basis defence solicitors were to be remunerated for this vital and time-consuming work.

Engagement with the Department of Justice

In recent months, consultations on this important issue have taken place between members of the Law Society Criminal Law Committee, the Bar Council and the Department of Justice. The Department has now put in place a new procedure, for those cases where the disclosure is significant, which enables legal defence practitioners to apply for sanction to claim payment for work carried out on review of that disclosure. Payments will be made where the disclosure goes beyond what would ordinarily be expected in the normal preparation of a case, with eligibility determined on a case-by-case basis.

This new scheme has been commenced with immediate effect. It is expected that the procedure and claim forms will be available on the Department of Justice website from 27 September 2021.

Deserved recognition

Significant disclosure necessitates long hours reviewing large volumes of disclosure material including, in some cases, viewing countless hours of CCTV. To date, this essential work has been generally unrecognised and unpaid. The commitment, dedication, and professionalism of criminal practitioners representing their clients in these cases speaks for itself and the recognition of that work is welcomed.

I wish to thank the Department of Justice for meeting with the Law Society to develop and establish this procedure for the payment of fees for review of disclosure. The effort involved and the attention to detail given is greatly appreciated. We will see how this new process works over the next year or so.

Kind regards,

James Cahill, your 150th President