Attorney Taavi Hein of Sirel & Partners Law Firm successfully represented a victim in criminal proceeding, as a result of which the Supreme Court of Estonia changed the practice of more than 20 years in criminal proceedings regarding the compensation of procedural costs.
The court’s previous approach was rigid. In practice, it was assumed that in order to compensate procedural costs, a party to the proceedings had to submit to the court the list of procedural costs as well as legal service invoices or other cost documents, such as payment orders. This essentially meant that by the end of the court proceedings, legal aid had to have been paid for, or at least the service provider had issue an invoice to the client for payment. If these documents were not available, the application for compensation of procedural costs was rejected even if the volume, content, and hourly rate of the work performed by lawyers were described in detail and verifiable.
In the latest decision, the Supreme Court of Estonia found that such an absolute requirement for the submission of cost documents does not arise from the law. In future, a list of procedural costs will generally be sufficient to apply for compensation for procedural costs in criminal proceedings, if it is possible to assess what legal service was provided, what was the duration and fee, and whether the legal costs were justified and necessary. Cost documents (such as an invoice or payment order) must be submitted only if the court has reasonable doubts about the occurrence or extent of the costs and the court specifically requests it.
The change in the Supreme Court’s practice also means a significant change for agreements between a client and a law firm. Compensation for procedural costs no longer depends on the submission of invoices to the client. This allows for more flexible remuneration agreements, including performance fees or deferred payments. The Supreme Court emphasized that the focus must be on the actual provision of the legal assistance and its justification, not the formal issuing of an invoice to the client or paying it.
This change brings the practice of criminal proceedings closer to civil court proceedings and actually improves the access to legal protection.
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