Consultation Response: Remunerating Exceptional Circumstances in the Magistrates’ Court

​The Department of Justice launched a targeted consultation on remunerating exceptional circumstances in the Magistrates’ Court in March 2016.

Following on from a similar exercise in the Crown Court in 2015, this consultation brings forward proposals to provide remuneration outside the standard fee regime for a limited number of exceptional cases in which circumstances come together meaning that the standard fee regime alone cannot provide appropriate remuneration for the work involved in providing representation in the Magistrates’ Court.

The Bar’s response focuses on the the limited number of scenarios in the Magistrates’ Court which could require additional work, alongside the proposed hourly rates of payment. Read the Bar Council’s full submission to the consultation.