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Procedure for claiming for payment for Review of Disclosure
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The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) pays for RoD when there is “significant work to review documentation other than on a court date".
No claims will be processed without prior application to and sanction from the CLA unit in the Department of Justice.
The application for prior sanction must be submitted by the instructing solicitor on the case, on behalf of all parties on the defence team, to the Criminal Legal Aid Unit in the department at criminal_legal_aid_inbox@justice.ie with the Subject heading “Review of Disclosure application”.
The application for prior sanction shall include the following:
- a complete list of names and role of each member of the defence team who are expected to be reviewing disclosure
- full details of volume and type of disclosure – as far as can be ascertained in the initial application for sanction
- an estimate of the total number of hours required by each member of the defence team involved in RoD
- identify what material will be reviewed and by whom to ensure no unnecessary duplication of review of material
- confirmation that sanction has been given for documentary junior/trial junior/trial senior where relevant
- copy of the Legal Aid Certificate specifying that documentary junior has been authorised by the Court for the case in question
- the prior sanction application must be accompanied with the requisite form signed by the instructing solicitor
- where any technical experts or translators are required for RoD, as is current practice, prior sanction must be obtained before their services can be engaged
- if additional disclosure is given to the defence team at a later date the instructing solicitor shall submit another Sanction Application Form detailing the nature of the additional disclosure, the number of hours required to review it and who will be carrying out which parts of the review. Where sanction has already been granted it automatically carries over to the new disclosure. Where sanction was not granted in the initial application the additional material may alter the significance of the disclosure and sanction may at that stage be granted
- the Criminal Legal Aid Unit of the department may consult with the DPP from time to time to ascertain whether there is significant review of disclosure in a case
- you must itemise what has been reviewed, the number of hours involved for each item reviewed and the total number of hours
The department will process claims for interim payment on a quarterly basis for review of disclosure conducted in the preceding 3 months.
The instructing solicitor will be responsible for the collation and submission of the claims for payment on behalf of all those on the defence team conducting RoD. All parties who are entitled to make a claim for RoD shall forward to the instructing solicitor their invoice containing all the details as outlined in point 10 below.
For information regarding payment, please contact the Criminal Legal Aid Team at criminallegalaid@justice.ie
Please complete the relevant form below.
For the application for sanction form, you must attach copies of all legal aid certificates including sanction for documentary junior (where relevant) and a copy of the signed approved APPLICATION FOR SANCTION FORM.
All claims are to be sent to the Criminal Legal Aid Unit, Department of Justice, 51 St Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2.
Application for prior sanction shall be submitted by the instructing solicitor on the case, on behalf of all parties on the defence team, to the Criminal Legal Aid Unit in the department at email: criminal_legal_aid_inbox@justice.ie with the Subject heading “Review of Disclosure Application.”