Prior to 1 October 2012 a defendant acquitted following a criminal trial was entitled to apply for a Defence Costs Order (DCO) from Central Funds.
The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 introduced a new provision which applied to cases committed or sent to the Crown Court after 1 October 2012.
Schedule 7 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) 2012 amended the Prosecution of Offences Act (POA) 1985, which meant that from 1 October 2012 the ability to claim a DCO had dramatically altered in the following ways:
On 9 July 2012, the Ministry of Justice published guidance which stated in any of the above scenarios where a DCO can be awarded, if the defence is of exceptional complexity or exceptional expertise is brought to the case, a 100% uplift on costs can be sought.
To date Keoghs’ crime and regulatory team have recovered costs in the total sum of £1,099,345.80 on behalf of insurer clients from claims made by way of a DCO. This includes costs recovered both prior to and after the introduction of the new provisions as stated above.
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