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Publication date: 16.05.2024
RAU initiates changes to the method of calculating the remuneration of BPD lawyers
Introduction
The Bar Council of Ukraine (RAU) has taken an important step in the direction of improving the payment system for lawyers who provide free secondary legal aid (BAD). During the meeting, a decision was made on the need to amend Resolution No. 465 of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine dated September 17, 2014, which regulates the payment of lawyers' services and reimbursement of their expenses. This decision is the result of an appeal by a lawyer who complained about the unfairness of the existing method of calculating the remuneration used by the regional centers of the BPD.
The Problem of Unfair Calculation of Remuneration
The lawyer who applied to the RAU faced a problem during the calculation of the reward in the criminal proceedings at the stage of the pre-trial investigation, which included ten episodes of offenses. Despite the fact that each episode was entered in the Unified Register of Pretrial Investigations (ERDR) as a separate crime, the BPD center decided to take into account only two episodes, arguing that the offense was continuous.
The position of RAU and the Committee on BPD Issues
The Committee on Free Legal Aid (BAL), headed by Oksana Kadenko, considers this interpretation to be unfair. Kadenko noted that this approach does not take into account the scope of the lawyer's work on client protection. She emphasized that the scope of researching evidence, working with the client and forming a legal position is much greater in the case when all episodes of offenses are taken into account.Barbara Kalyuzhna, a member of the RAU, additionally drew attention to a similar problem in the representation of several victims, when lawyers are paid for their work as for one victim, despite the significant amount of work performed.
Proposed Changes to the Calculation Methodology
In order to ensure fair remuneration of lawyers, RAU proposed to make changes to the method of calculating remuneration. It was proposed to introduce three criteria for determining the amount of attorneys' fees:
Number of episodes according to excerpts from the ERDR – All episodes entered in the ERDR must be taken into account when calculating the reward.
Number of episodes according to the indictment – The indictment must include all episodes of offenses that were incriminated against the suspect.
Number of Episodes According to Trial Court Sentence – The calculation of the award must take into account all episodes for which a sentence was issued.
At the same time, the largest of the three indicators should be used to pay for the lawyer's work. This will allow to take into account the entire volume of work performed by the lawyer and ensure a fair remuneration for the services provided.You may be interested in the following articles: lawyer consultation, lawyer consultation, analysis of documents, legal analysis of the situation, written consultation, verification of documents by a lawyer, lawyers, documents, lawyer's assistance online, lawyer online, legal opinion, legal opinion of a lawyer, lawyer online
Conclusion
The RAU's initiative to amend the methodology for calculating the remuneration of lawyers who provide free secondary legal assistance is an important step towards ensuring the fairness and efficiency of this system. The proposed changes will increase the motivation of lawyers to provide quality legal assistance, which in turn will increase the level of legal protection of citizens. Taking into account all episodes of offenses when calculating the fee will ensure fair remuneration of lawyers, in accordance with the volume of work performed by them.
