Chapter 42 - Appeals under statute - Part II - Fees of Solicitors
Application and interpretation of this Part
42.8.-(1) This Part applies to fees of solicitors in a cause other than fees-
(a) provided for by regulations made by the Secretary of State under section 14A of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1967 (a); or
(b) for which the Secretary of State may make regulations under section 33 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 (b).
(2) In this Part, "the Table of Fees" means the Table of Fees in rule 42.16.
Form of account of expenses
42.9. An account of expenses presented to the Auditor in accordance with an order of the court shall set out in chronological order all items in respect of which fees are claimed and shall be taxed as if the whole work in the cause had been carried out by one solicitor.
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(a) 1967 c.43; section 14A was inserted by the Divorce Jurisdiction, Court Fees and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1983 (c.12), section 3.
(b) 1986 c.47; section 33 was amended by the Legal Aid Act 1988 (c.34), Schedule 4, paragraph 5.
Basis of charging
42.10.-(1) Only such expenses as are reasonable for conducting the cause in a proper manner shall be allowed.
(2) Where the work can properly be performed by a local solicitor, the Auditor in taxing an account shall allow such expenses as would have been incurred if the work had been done by the nearest local solicitor, including reasonable fees for instructing and corresponding with him, unless the Auditor is satisfied that it was in the interests of the client that the solicitor in charge of the cause should attend personally.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), a solicitor may charge an account either on the basis of Chapter I or on the basis of Chapter III of the Table of Fees, but he may not charge partly on one basis and partly on the other.
(4) Where the inclusive fees set out in Chapter III of the Table of Fees are not conveniently applicable or do not properly cover the work involved, an account may be charged on the basis of Chapter I of that Table.
(5) The Auditor may increase or reduce an inclusive fee in Chapter III of the Table of Fees in appropriate circumstances whether or not those circumstances fall under Part IX of that Chapter.
Value added tax
42.12.-(1) Where work done by a solicitor constitutes a supply of services in respect of which value added tax is chargeable by him, there may be added to the amount of fees an amount equal to the amount of value added tax chargeable.
(2) An account of expenses or a minute of election to charge the inclusive fee in paragraph 1 of Chapter III of the Table of Fees shall contain a statement as to whether or not the party entitled to the expenses is registered for the purposes of value added tax.
Charges for witnesses
42.13.-(1) Charges for the attendance at a proof or jury trial of a witness-
(a) present but not called to give evidence, or
(b) who is held as concurring with another witness who has been called,
may be allowed if a party has, at any time before the diet of taxation, enrolled a motion for the name of that witness to be noted in the minute of proceedings in the cause.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where it was reasonable in any cause to employ a skilled person to make investigations or to report for any purpose, any charges for such investigations and report and for any attendance at any proof or jury trial shall be allowed in addition to the ordinary witness fee of such person at such rate as the Auditor shall determine is fair and reasonable.
(2A) Subject to paragraph (3)(a) in the case of a skilled witness and paragraph (3)(b) in the case of a professional witness, in any cause in which evidence has been given by affidavit, charges shall be allowed to the deponent in terms of paragraph (2) of this rule or of paragraph (2)(a)(iii) of Chapter II of the Table of Fees as the case may be.
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Chapter 42.11 was deleted by Act of Sederunt (S.I. 1998/2674) on 1.12.98.
(3) The Auditor may make no determination under paragraph (2) or (2A) unless the court has, on granting a motion made for the purpose, before or at the time at which it awarded expenses or on a motion enrolled at any time thereafter but before the diet of taxation -
(a) certified that the witness was a skilled witness;
(aa) certified that it was reasonable to employ that person to make investigations or to report; and
(b) recorded the name of that witness in the interlocutor pronounced by the court.
(4) Where a motion under paragraph (3) is enrolled after the court has awarded expenses, the expenses of the motion shall be borne by the party enrolling it.
Additional fee
42.14.-(1) An application for the allowance of an additional fee shall be made by motion to the court.
(2) The court may, on such an application to it-
(a) determine the application itself; or
(b) remit the application to the Auditor for him to determine whether an additional fee should be allowed.
(3) In determining whether to allow an additional fee under paragraph (2), the court or the Auditor, as the case may be, shall take into account any of the following factors:-
(a) the complexity of the cause and the number, difficulty or novelty of the questions raised;
(b) the skill, time and labour, and specialised knowledge required, of the solicitor or the exceptional urgency of the steps taken by him;
(c) the number or importance of any documents prepared or perused;
(d) the place and circumstances of the cause or in which the work of the solicitor in preparation for, and conduct of, the cause has been carried out;
(e) the importance of the cause or the subject-matter of it to the client;
(f) the amount or value of money or property involved in the cause;
(g) the steps taken with a view to settling the cause, limiting the matters in dispute or limiting the scope of any hearing.
(4) In fixing an additional fee, the Auditor shall take into account any of the factors mentioned in paragraph (3).
Fees of a reporter
42.15. Subject to any other provision in these Rules, any order of the court or agreement between a party and his solicitor, where any matter in a cause is remitted by the court, at its own instance or on the motion of a party, to a reporter or other person to report to the court-
(a) the solicitors for the parties shall be personally liable, in the first instance, to the reporter or other person for his fee and outlays unless the court otherwise orders; and
(b) where-
(i) the court makes the remit at its own instance, the party ordained by the court, or
(ii) the court makes the remit on the motion of a party, that party,
shall be liable to the reporter or other person for his fee and outlays.
Table of fees
42.16.-(1) The Table of Fees shall regulate the fees of a solicitor charged in an account in any cause between party and party.
(2) In the Table of Fees, "sheet" means a page of 250 or more words or numbers.
(3) The Table of Fees is as follows.
