Citation and commencement

1. This Order may be cited as the Legal Aid (Functions) Order 2000 and shall come into force on 1st August 2000.

Interpretation

2. In this Order, unless the context requires otherwise:

"the Act" means the Legal Aid Act 1988;

"the Board" means the Legal Aid Board;

"the Commission" means the Legal Services Commission established under section 1 of the Access to Justice Act 1999(2); and

"costs" means, in the case of a solicitor, the fees and disbursements payable under section 25 of the Act and, in the case of counsel, the fees payable under that section.

Functions under Part V of the Legal Aid Act 1988

3.-(1) The general function conferred on the Board by section 3(2) of the Act shall include all such functions mentioned in subsection (4)(b) of that section as are required to be exercised by the Commission to enable it to determine and authorise the work to be carried out, the costs, and the method of payment of such costs, in respect of representation which is provided by means of a contract under Part II of the Act in respect of a Very High Cost Case.

(2) A Very High Cost Case is a case with regard to which, in the estimation of the Commission:

(a)if the case proceeds to trial, that trial would be likely to last for 25 days or longer; or

(b)the defence costs with regard to any one defendant (or group of defendants represented by the same firm of solicitors) are likely to amount to £150,000 or greater (such sum to include the solicitor's costs and counsel's fees and VAT).

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order confers on the Legal Services Commission the functions required to enable it to determine the work to be carried out, the costs, and the method of payment of such costs, in respect of representation which is provided under contracts for very high cost cases.