KINGSTON, Jamaica— Justice Minister Delroy Chuck says that Parliament has approved increases in fees for attorneys-at-law empanelled by the Legal Aid Council (LAC).

“Now it will go through the regulations committee, which will examine it around next week. It will be gazetted, hopefully before the end of the month, and by then these fees will come into operation,” he said.

The minister said that some fees are expected to double while others will see an even higher increase.

The LAC assists persons who are unable to afford legal representation and access to the court system.                                                                                                                               

According to the ministry, to date, there are 823 attorneys on the LAC’s panel with 813 of that number assigned as duty counsel since the start of the year.                        

Chuck said that the fees offered to attorneys are a contribution to offset some expenses.                                                                               

“I put it no higher than a contribution that is made by the State to the attorney, as it is not intended to be the value of the legal service that the attorneys provide. In truth, they represent less than 15 per cent of the real value of what a private attorney would charge. We would never be able to pay an appropriate fee to the attorneys who represent persons in court,” he noted.                            

Currently, the amount attorneys receive for murder cases and some other serious offences is $135,000.

“Apart from those figures, we pay a smaller figure, sometimes $5,000 or $4,000. Attorneys in murder cases, including capital murder, manslaughter, and other serious offences, will get $270,000 with junior counsel receiving $180,000. I repeat, these really are contributions; they don’t represent the value that the attorneys provide to the client. If it was a private retainer, for instance, it would be five to 10 times as much,” he said.    

According to the minister, fees will be raised to $90,000 for matters in the parish courts and $120,000 for fraud cases.                                                                                                           

“For traffic offences involving dangerous or reckless driving, $70,000 would be paid. We provide $270,000 for appeals for murder and serious offences; firearm offences will have a fee of $180,000. Where the attorney has to attend matters at the police stations for question and answer, we provide $25,000. For an Identification (ID) parade, where the client can’t afford an attorney, the fee is $25,000,” Minister Chuck outlined.

Meanwhile, Chuck dispelled the notion that the quality of the service the attorneys provide depends on how much they are paid.

“That is not true. Let me assure you, that if we feel in the Legal Aid Council that the attorneys are not giving 100 per cent, then we’re unlikely to ask them or to assign any more cases to them.”

He noted that the Council receives feedback “on which attorneys are performing fulsomely or which attorneys are not giving of their best service”.       

The only offences not covered by the LAC are those under the Money Laundering Act as well as the Dangerous Drug Act for manufacturing, importing, exporting, taking preparatory steps to export, selling or otherwise dealing in any dangerous drug, and being in possession in excess of the specified amounts.                                                                  

In addition, the LAC does not provide representation for any offence not punishable with imprisonment.