Regulation 5A of the Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 governs the way that applications for judicial review under Part 54 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 or Part 4 of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008 are remunerated via legal aid.
The Civil Legal Aid (Remuneration) Regulations 2013 (legislation.gov.uk)
Under these regulations, it is not possible for the Lord Chancellor to pay for work involved in making an application for judicial review except in the circumstances set out in sub-paragraphs (a) to (e) of regulation 5A(1).
The Lord Chancellor will make payment in the following circumstances:
- the court give permission to bring judicial review proceedings
- the defendant withdraws the decision to which the application for judicial review relates and the withdrawal results in the court:
- refusing permission to bring judicial review proceedings
- neither refusing nor giving permission
- the court order an oral hearing to consider:
- whether to give permission to bring judicial review proceedings
- whether to give permission to bring a relevant appeal
- a relevant appeal
- the court order a rolled-up hearing
If a case concludes before the court makes a decision on permission, the Lord Chancellor has a discretion (in practice exercised by the LAA) under regulations 5A(1)(b) to pay for this work. When exercising this discretion, the Lord Chancellor must consider whether it is reasonable to pay remuneration, taking into account the circumstances of the case and the 3 factors in regulation 5A(1)(b).