Report recommends fee guidelines to bring down cost of litigation

Report recommends fee guidelines to bring down cost of litigation

Mr Justice Peter Kelly

The cost of litigation in Ireland should be brought down by fee guidelines, the civil justice review group chaired by former High Court president Mr Justice Peter Kelly has reportedly recommended.

Mr Justice Kelly was appointed in 2017 to chair a group to review and reform the administration of civil justice in Ireland, which was originally meant to report back in 2019 but concluded late last month.

The Irish Independent reports that it has seen the group’s recommendations, which it says include the introduction of guidelines setting out what can be charged for different types of legal work.

The guidelines would be “non-binding” due to concerns over EU competition law, but lawyers who charge far beyond guideline levels could face action from the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators.

The report recommends that the guidelines should be drawn up either by that office or by the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) and should “take into account prevailing economic conditions”.

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