Legal Services Regulation Act 2015

127. (1) Where the Authority reasonably believes that a limited liability partnership is contravening or has contravened subsection (8) of section 125 it may, in accordance with this section, give a direction in writing to that partnership to do or refrain from doing such acts as are specified in the direction.

• (2) Where the Authority proposes to issue a direction under subsection (1), it shall send the limited liability partnership a notice in writing—

• (a) setting out the nature of the contravention that the Authority reasonably believes to be occurring or to have occurred and the reason it so believes,

• (b) setting out the measures that it proposes to direct the limited liability partnership concerned to take in order to bring such contravention to an end, and

• (c) inviting the limited liability partnership to make observations within such period as is specified in the notice in relation to the belief of the authority referred to in paragraph (a) or the measures proposed under paragraph (b) or both.

• (3) The Authority may, having considered any observations made by the limited liability partnership under subsection (2) within the time specified in the notice, give a direction in writing to the partnership, directing it to take such measures within such period as may be specified in the direction, as the Authority considers necessary to ensure compliance by that partnership with any requirements under section 125(8).

• (4) A limited liability partnership may, not later than 21 days after the giving of a direction under this section by the Authority, appeal that direction to the High Court.

• (5) An appeal under subsection (4) shall be on notice to the Authority.

• (6) The High Court, on hearing an appeal under this section, may—

• (a) confirm the direction concerned, or

• (b) where it considers that the direction is oppressive, unreasonable or unnecessary, revoke or vary the direction.

128. Application to High Court for order in respect of failure to comply with direction under section 127

128. (1) Where a limited liability partnership fails to comply with a direction under section 127, the Authority may apply to the High Court for an order—

• (a) requiring the partnership to comply with the direction,

• (b) suspending the authorisation issued under section 125, or

• (c) revoking the authorisation issued to that partnership under section 125.

• (2) An application under subsection (1) shall be on notice to the limited liability partnership concerned.

• (3) The High Court, on hearing an application for an order under subsection (1) may make an order—

• (a) directing the limited liability partnership to comply with the direction under section 127, or

• (b) setting aside the direction.

• (4) The High Court, on hearing an application for an order referred to in subsection (1)(b), may make an order suspending the authorisation issued under section 125 to the limited liability partnership concerned for such period as is specified in the order and subject to such conditions (if any) as the Court may specify.

• (5) The High Court, on hearing an application for an order referred to in subsection (1)(c), may make an order—

• (a) suspending the authorisation issued under section 125 to the limited liability partnership concerned for such period as is specified in the order and subject to such conditions (if any) as the Court may specify, or

• (b) revoking the authorisation issued under section 125 to the limited liability partnership concerned.

• (6) The jurisdiction vested in the High Court under this section shall be exercised by the President of the High Court or, if and whenever the President of the High Court so directs, by an ordinary judge of the High Court for the time being assigned in that behalf.

• (7) The Authority or the limited liability partnership concerned may appeal to the Court of Appeal against an order of the High Court made under this section not later than 21 days from the date of the making of the order and, unless the High Court or the Court of Appeal otherwise directs, the order of the High Court shall have effect pending the determination of such appeal.

• (8) Where an order is made by the High Court under subsection (3) or (4), the Authority shall as soon as practicable thereafter cause—

• (a) a notice to be published in Iris Oifigiúil stating the effect of the order, and

• (b) such notice to be published in such other manner as the Authority may consider appropriate.

129. Ceasing to operate as a limited liability partnership

129. (1) Where a limited liability partnership intends to cease operating as a limited liability partnership it shall notify the Authority in writing of its intention and the date on which it intends to cease to so operate.

• (2) An authorisation issued to a limited liability partnership under section 125 shall stand revoked from such date as is specified in a notification given to the Authority in accordance with subsection (1).

• (3) An authorisation issued to a limited liability partnership under section 125 shall stand revoked from such date as the limited liability partnership ceases to have professional indemnity insurance in place as required by that section.

• (4) A notification under subsection (1) shall be in such form and accompanied by such fee (if any) as may be prescribed by regulations made under section 130.

130. Regulations on operation of limited liability partnerships

130. (1) The Authority shall make regulations in relation to the operation and management of limited liability partnerships.

• (2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under this section may make provision for—

• (a) the form of application for authorisation under section 125,

• (b) the information to accompany any application for authorisation under section 125, including the name and address of each of the partners in the relevant business making the application and the full name of the partnership and the address at which the partnership ordinarily carries on business,

• (c) the information (including the standard of such information) to be provided by a limited liability partnership to its clients and creditors as to the nature and effect of limited liability partnerships,

• (d) the information to be provided by a limited liability partnership to the Authority for the purposes of enabling the Authority to ensure compliance by that partnership with any requirements imposed on such partnerships by or under this Act, and

• (e) the fee to accompany an application under section 125 or a notification under section 129.

131. Disapplication of section 3 of Registration of Business Names Act 1963

131. Section 3 of the Registration of Business Names Act 1963 shall not apply to a limited liability partnership.

132. Amendment of section 27 of Companies Act 2014

132. Section 27 of the Companies Act 2014 is amended by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

• “(3A) Subsection (1) as it relates to the use of the word ‘limited’, or any abbreviation of that word, shall not apply to a limited liability partnership (within the meaning of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015).”.

PART 9 Obligations of Practising Barristers

133. Roll of practising barristers

133. (1) The Authority shall—

• (a) set up and maintain a roll of practising barristers (in this Part referred to as the “roll”), and

• (b) within six months of the commencement date, enter on the roll the name of, and additional information in respect of, every person who is, on the commencement date, a practising barrister.

• (2) The Authority shall make a copy of the roll available at its principal office during normal working hours to members of the public for inspection free of charge.

• (3) If the roll is kept in an electronic or other non-written form, the Authority may comply with its obligation under subsection (2) by making it publicly available on its website.

• (4) An entry on the roll shall, in respect of each practising barrister—

• (a) contain such information as is required by this Part,

• (b) contain such additional information as may be prescribed under subsection (5),

• (c) specify whether he or she is a member of the Law Library, and

• (d) specify whether he or she is in the full time service of the State.

• (5) The Authority may, having regard to the objectives specified in section 13(4), prescribe additional information in relation to the professional qualifications and areas of expertise of the practising barrister concerned that is to be contained in an entry on the roll.

• (6) In this Part—

“additional information”, in relation to a practising barrister, means the additional information relating to him or her that is prescribed under subsection (5);

“commencement date” means the date on which this section comes into operation.

134. Entry of name on roll

F12[134. (1) A person who is a qualified barrister and who intends to provide legal services as a barrister shall apply to the Authority to have his or her name, and the information referred to in section 133(4) in respect of him or her, entered on the roll and, subject to section 96(6), the Authority, on being satisfied that the person is a qualified barrister, shall enter the name of that person and the information on the roll.

• (2) An application under subsection (1) shall be—

• (a) in such form as may be prescribed, and

• (b) accompanied by the person’s address for correspondence and such other contact details of the person as the Authority may specify for the purposes of this section.]

135. Variation of entry on roll

135. (1) The Authority shall remove the name of a person from the roll—

• (a) where the High Court makes an order under section 85(7)(e) that the person’s name be struck off the roll,

• (b) where *F13subsection (3) or (7) of [section 96]* applies in respect of that person,

• (c) on application to it under subsection (3) by the person concerned,

• (d) on the death of that person, where the Authority has received a certified copy, referred to in subsection (4), of the entry in the register of deaths concerning that person.

• (2) Where the High Court makes an order under section 85(7)(d) that a practising barrister be suspended from practice as a legal practitioner, the Authority shall, for the period specified in the order, maintain a record on the roll of—

• (a) the fact of such suspension, and

• (b) any terms and conditions specified in the order to which the suspension is subject.

• (3) A person whose name has been entered on the roll, who no longer wishes to provide legal services as a practising barrister, F13[shall] apply to the Authority to have his or her name removed from the roll.

• (4) Where a registrar of deaths within the meaning of the Civil Registration Act 2004 registers in the register of deaths (within the meaning of Part 5 of that Act) the death of a person whose name is on the roll, the registrar shall as soon as practicable send by post to the Authority a certified copy of the entry in the register of deaths, and may charge the cost of the certificate and of the sending thereof to the Authority as an expense of his or her office of registrar of deaths.

• (5) Where the Authority removes the name of a person from the roll under this section, it shall also remove from the roll any information in respect of him or her specified in section 133(4) that is contained in the entry concerned.

• F14[(5A) A practising barrister whose name has been entered on the roll shall, not later than 30 days after the date on which the change occurred, notify the Authority of any change in the following information in respect of him or her:

• (a) his or her name;

• (b) any of the matters referred to in section 133(4) as they relate to him or her.

• (5B) The Authority shall, as soon as practicable after receipt of a notification referred to in subsection (5A), amend the entry on the roll, and its records, as necessary.

• (5C) The Bar Council, where it becomes aware that a person has ceased to be a member of the Law Library, shall, without delay, notify the Authority of the fact.

• (5D) The Authority, on receipt of a notification referred to in subsection (5C), shall send the person concerned a notice in writing—

• (a) informing him or her of the notification,

• (b) inviting him or her to, not later than 30 days after the date of the notice, confirm whether he or she is a member of the Law Library, and

• (c) informing him or her of the effect of subsection (5E).

• (5E) The Authority, where it has complied with subsection (5D), shall amend the entry on the roll, and its records, in respect of the person concerned to specify that he or she is a practising barrister who is not a member of the Law Library where—

• (a) it is satisfied, having regard to the notification under subsection (5C) and any confirmation provided by the person in accordance with paragraph (b) of subsection (5D), that the person is a practising barrister who is not a member of the Law Library, or

• (b) the person does not provide a confirmation in accordance with that paragraph.

• (5F) Subsections (5D) and (5E) shall not apply where—

• (a) the Authority has, under subsection (1), removed the name of the person from the roll, or

• (b) the person concerned has, as the case may be—

• (i) notified the Authority under subsection (5A) that he or she is a practising barrister who is not a member of the Law Library, or

• (ii) complied with subsection (3).

• (5G) An application under subsection (3), a notification referred to in subsection (5A) and a confirmation under paragraph (b) of subsection (5D) shall be—

• (a) in such form as may be prescribed, and

• (b) accompanied by the address for correspondence and such other contact details of the person concerned as the Authority may specify for the purposes of this section.

• (5H) An amendment under subsection (5B) or (5E) to an entry in the roll shall take effect on and from the date on which the Authority, under the subsection concerned, amends the roll and its records.

• (5I) In determining whether a practising barrister’s failure to comply with subsection (5A) or subsection (1) or (2) of section 135A should be considered as constituting misconduct within the meaning of section 50(1)(m), the Authority, the Complaints Committee, the Disciplinary Tribunal or, as the case may be, the High Court, may have regard to whether the failure to comply—

• (a) occurred as a result of the illness or incapacity of the practising barrister concerned, and

• (b) was remedied without unreasonable delay after the 30 day period referred to in the subsection concerned had expired.]

135A. F15[Address for Correspondence

135A. (1) Where, on the date on which this subsection comes into operation, the address for correspondence most recently provided by a practising barrister to the Authority for any purpose under this Part is no longer his or her address for correspondence, the practising barrister shall, within 30 days of that date, provide the Authority with his or her current address for correspondence.

• (2) Where, on or after the date on which this subsection comes into operation, the address for correspondence provided by a practising barrister to the Authority for any purpose under this Part changes, the practising barrister shall, within 30 days of the date of such change, provide the Authority with his or her current address for correspondence.

• (3) In this Part, “address for correspondence” means, in relation to a person, the address or the e-mail address of the person that can be used by the Authority for the purposes of corresponding with him or her.]

136. Prohibition on unqualified person providing legal services as practising barrister

136. (1) Subject to subsection (5), an unqualified person shall not provide legal services as a practising barrister.

• (2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall, without prejudice to any other liability or disability to which he may be subject, be guilty of an offence and shall be liable—

• (a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or, at the discretion of the court, to a fine not exceeding €30,000 or to both such fine and such imprisonment, or

• (b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or, at the discretion of the Court, to a Class A fine or to both such fine and such imprisonment.

• (3) A person who contravenes subsection (1) in relation to a court of justice shall also be guilty of contempt of that court and shall be punishable accordingly.

• (4) In this section, “unqualified person” means a person who—

• (a) is not a qualified barrister,

• (b) notwithstanding that he or she is a qualified barrister, is not a person whose name is entered on the roll of practising barristers, or

• (c) is not a practising solicitor.

• (5) Subsection (1) shall not, during the period referred to in that paragraph, apply to a practising barrister to whom paragraph (b) of section 133(1) applies.

137. Prohibition on pretending to be qualified barrister

137. (1) A person who is not a qualified barrister shall not pretend to be a qualified barrister or take or use any name, title, addition or description or make any representation or demand implying that he is a qualified barrister.

• (2) A person who contravenes subsection (1) shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a Class A fine.

PART 10 Legal Costs

Chapter 1 Interpretation

138. Interpretation (Part 10)

138. In this Part—

“application” means an application for adjudication of legal costs under section 154;

“bill of costs” means a document setting out the amount of legal costs chargeable to a client in respect of legal services provided to him or her, prepared by a legal practitioner in accordance with section 152 or, where applicable, section 154(1);

“Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator” means the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator appointed under section 139(2);

“commercially sensitive information” means—

• (a) financial, commercial, scientific, technical or other information the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to result in a material financial loss or gain to the person to whom it relates, or could prejudice the competitive position of that person in the conduct of his or her business or otherwise in his or her occupation, or

• (b) information the disclosure of which could prejudice the conduct or outcome of contractual or other negotiations of the person to whom it relates;

“contentious business” means legal services provided by a legal practitioner for the purposes of, or in contemplation of, proceedings before a court, tribunal or other body, the Personal Injuries Assessment Board or an arbitrator appointed under the Arbitration Act 2010 or in connection with an arbitration, mediation or conciliation;

“disbursement” means a fee or cost (whether or not fixed by or under a statute or rules of court) payable to a third party that is necessarily and reasonably incurred by a legal practitioner for the purposes of the provision by that legal practitioner of legal services to a client, and includes fees or costs payable by the legal practitioner to a barrister or an expert witness, but does not include general costs incurred in the course of the legal practitioner’s practice as a legal practitioner;

“enactment” means—

• (a) an Act of the Oireachtas,

• (b) a statute that was in force in Saorstát Éireann immediately before the date of the coming into operation of the Constitution and that continues in force by virtue of Article 50 of the Constitution, or

• (c) an instrument made under—

• (i) an Act of the Oireachtas, or

• (ii) a statute referred to in paragraph (b);

“legal costs” means fees, charges, disbursements and other costs incurred or charged in relation to contentious or non-contentious business, and includes—

• (a) the costs of or arising out of any cause or matter in any court,

• (b) any costs which are the subject of an order made by an arbitral tribunal in accordance with section 21(4) of the Arbitration Act 2010 for the adjudication of the costs of the arbitration by a Legal Costs Adjudicator,

• (c) the costs of a receiver appointed in any cause or matter, on the application of the receiver or of any party to the cause or matter,

• (d) costs that arise from an inquiry, investigation or other proceeding conducted under an enactment, and

• (e) the cost of registering judgments as mortgages, of obtaining grants of probate and of letters of administration, of satisfying judgments, and any other costs usually adjudicated ex parte;

“Legal Costs Adjudicator” means a person appointed under section 139(2) to be a Legal Costs Adjudicator;

“non-contentious business” means legal services that do not relate to contentious business;

“Office” means the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators referred to in section 139;

“register of determinations” means the register of determinations referred to in section 140.

Chapter 2 Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicator

139. Office

139. (1) The Office heretofore known as the Taxing-Masters’ Office shall be known as the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators.

• (2) F16[The Government may], in accordance with the provisions of the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961, appoint—

• (a) the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator, and

• (b) such number of Legal Costs Adjudicators F16[as the Government determine] to be the number necessary to ensure that the work of the Office may be carried out effectively and efficiently.

• (3) A function, power or jurisdiction conferred by or under any enactment on a Taxing-Master shall be deemed to be conferred on the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and every Legal Costs Adjudicator.

• (4) The role and functions of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and every Legal Costs Adjudicator appointed under this Act are limited to the jurisdiction heretofore proper to the Taxing-Masters’ Office and shall not extend to the lower courts or to the jurisdiction of County Registrars.

140. Register of determinations

140. (1) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall ensure that a register of determinations is established and maintained in relation to applications for adjudication of legal costs under this Part.

• (2) Subject to this section, the register of determinations shall contain the following particulars in relation to each application:

• (a) the date of the receipt by the Office of the application;

• (b) the names of the parties to the adjudication;

• (c) the date of receipt by the Office of the bill of costs and each other document in connection with the application, including, if the application arises from contentious business, the title of the proceedings and record number of the proceedings (if any);

• (d) the date on which the adjudication is assigned and, where the adjudication is assigned to a Legal Costs Adjudicator, the Legal Costs Adjudicator to whom the adjudication is assigned;

• (e) the outcome of determination made under section 157(1) and the dates on which it was made and on which the notice of it was furnished to the parties;

• (f) where a party applies under section 160 for a determination to be considered, the date on which the Legal Costs Adjudicator concerned makes his or her decision under section 160(5), the date on which notice of that decision is furnished to the parties and, where a new determination is made under section 160(5)(b), the outcome of that determination;

• (g) where a party applies under section 161 for a review of a determination made under section 160, the date on which the High Court determines that review, the outcome of the review and, where the High Court remits the matter under section 161(4)(b)(i), the determination of the Legal Costs Adjudicator to whom the matter is remitted;

• (h) the reasons for the determination, prepared by the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator in accordance with subsection (3).

• (3) Subject to subsections (4) to (7), the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall prepare, and cause to be placed on the register of determinations, the reasons for a determination unless—

• (a) the adjudication relates to an application for adjudication of legal costs as between the parties to proceedings which—

• (i) were held otherwise than in public, or

• (ii) if there had been a hearing, would have been held otherwise than in public,

• (b) the adjudication relates to an application for adjudication of legal costs as between a legal practitioner and his or her client,

• (c) the adjudication relates to an application for adjudication of legal costs as between the parties to proceedings where the proceedings have been settled prior to the conclusion of the hearing by a court of the proceedings, or

• (d) the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator considers, having obtained the views of the parties to the adjudication, that it would be contrary to public interest for that information to be published.

• (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator need not publish the reasons for a determination where he or she is of the opinion that the adjudication concerned does not involve a matter of legal importance.

• (5) Where paragraph (a), (b) or (c) of subsection (3) applies, notwithstanding that subsection and subsection (2), the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall cause to be published the outcome of and the reasons for the determination, as well as the information referred to in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection (2), in such a manner that—

• (a) where subsection (3)(a)(i) applies, information which is protected from disclosure by reason of those proceedings is not disclosed,

• (b) where subsection (3)(a)(ii) applies, information is not disclosed which would have been protected from disclosure if the matter had been disposed of by proceedings which would have been held otherwise than in public, and

• (c) where subsection (3)(b) applies, the client concerned may not be identified, whether by name, address, or economic activity.

• (6) Where the adjudication concerned relates to legal costs as between parties to proceedings, or a legal practitioner and his or her client, the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall ensure that the information referred to in subsection (2) is published in such a manner that commercially sensitive information relating to either party, or to the client, as the case may be, is not disclosed.

• (7) A reference to a determination in subsection (2)(h) shall be construed, as the case may be, as a reference to—

• (a) subject to paragraphs (b) and (c), a determination made under section 158(1),

• (b) subject to paragraph (c), where a party applies under section 160 for a determination to be considered, and a new determination is made under section 160(5)(b), that determination, or

• (c) where a party applies under section 161 for a review of a determination made under section 160, and the High Court remits the matter under section 161(4)(b)(i), the determination under that provision of the Legal Costs Adjudicator to whom the matter is remitted.

• (8) The register of determinations shall be available for inspection without payment, during office hours by any person who applies to inspect it, and on a website of the Courts Service.

141. County registrars

141. (1) A County Registrar, on a taxation of costs, shall have regard to the principles relating to legal costs specified in Schedule 1.

• (2) Each County Registrar shall ensure that a register of taxation determinations is established and maintained by him or her in relation to applications to him or her for taxation of costs.

• (3) A register referred to in subsection (2) shall contain the following particulars in relation to each application for taxation of costs:

• (a) the date of the receipt by the county registrar concerned of the application for taxation;

• (b) the names of the parties to the application;

• (c) the date on which the determination was made;

• (d) an outline of the disputed issues;

• (e) the outcome, in monetary terms, of the taxation;

• (f) the reasons for the outcome, as determined by the County Registrar.

• (4) The register referred to in subsection (2) shall be available for inspection during office hours without payment by any person who applies to inspect it.

• (5) Each County Registrar shall report annually to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator providing a summary of the information contained in the register of taxation determinations maintained by him or her.

• F17[(6) For the purposes of subsection (3)(f), a County Registrar need not publish the reasons for a determination where he or she is of the opinion that the taxation concerned does not involve a matter of legal importance.]

142. Guidelines on performance of functions of Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator under this Part

142. (1) After consulting with the Minister, the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and any person or body that the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator considers to be an appropriate person or body to be consulted for the purposes of this section, the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator may from time to time prepare, for the guidance of Legal Costs Adjudicators, legal practitioners and the public, guidelines not inconsistent with this Act (including any regulations made under this Act) or Rules of Court indicating the manner in which the functions of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and the Legal Costs Adjudicators are to be performed.

• (2) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall ensure that guidelines prepared by him or her under this section are published as soon as practicable after the guidelines have been prepared.

• (3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), guidelines under this section may—

• (a) describe the procedures for the adjudication of legal costs under this Part,

• (b) set out the documents and other information that are required by or under this Part to accompany an application for the adjudication of legal costs,

• (c) describe the notices and other information that will be provided by the Legal Costs Adjudicator in relation to any such applications,

• (d) identify the provisions of this Part and the Rules of Court relevant to an application, including those relating to the time limits within which the documentation and information referred to in paragraph (b) are to be provided,

• (e) describe the procedures that are to be followed in the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators in relation to the adjudication of legal costs,

• (f) provide guidance as to the circumstances in which a Legal Costs Adjudicator may exercise his or her powers under subsection (4) or (5) of section 156,

• (g) set out the fees that are to be charged in the Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators in respect of the services provided by it, and the manner in which those fees may be paid,

• (h) provide such other information as appears to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator to be appropriate, having regard to the purposes of the guidelines referred to in subsection (1).

143. Review of scales of fees

143. The Superior Courts Rules Committee shall, whenever it considers it appropriate to do so and, in any case, not less than once every 2 years, review the scales of fees for contentious and non-contentious business set out in Appendix W to the Rules of the Superior Courts.

144. Strategic plan

144. (1) As soon as practicable and in any event not later than 6 months after the coming into operation of this section, the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall prepare a strategic plan for the 3 year period following that coming into operation and submit the plan to the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service for his or her approval.

• (2) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall also prepare, not later than 6 months before each third anniversary of the coming into operation mentioned in subsection (1), a strategic plan for the next ensuing 3 year period and submit the plan to the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service for his or her approval.

• (3) A strategic plan shall—

• (a) set out the key objectives, outputs and related strategies for the performance of the functions of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and the Legal Costs Adjudicators, and

• (b) have regard to the need to ensure the most effective and efficient use of resources possible.

• (4) The Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service shall as soon as practicable after approving a strategic plan under this section, forward that plan to the Minister, and the Minister shall, as soon as practicable after receiving that strategic plan, cause a copy of it to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas.

145. Business plan

145. (1) Subject to this section, the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall, in each year—

• (a) prepare a business plan in respect of that year or of such other period as may be determined by the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service, and

• (b) submit the plan to that Chief Executive Officer for approval.

• (2) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall prepare a business plan in a form and manner in accordance with any directions issued by the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service (including any time limit by which the plan shall be submitted to him or her) and shall ensure that the plan—

• (a) indicates the activities of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and the Legal Costs Adjudicators during the period to which the plan relates, and

• (b) contains any other information specified by that Chief Executive Officer.

• (3) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall, in preparing a business plan, have regard to the strategic plan prepared under section 144 and in operation at that time.

• (4) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall implement the business plan unless the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service, within 30 days of the submission of the business plan, directs the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator in writing to amend the plan or not to give effect to it.

146. Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator to submit annual report

146. (1) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall, not later than 30 April in each year, prepare a report (in this section referred to as the “annual report”) of the activities of the Office in the immediately preceding financial year and submit it to the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service.

• (2) The Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service may specify, by direction in writing to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator, the form of the annual report and any information that is required to be included in the annual report.

• (3) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall comply with a direction given to him or her under subsection (2).

• (4) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator—

• (a) may make any other reports that he or she considers appropriate, to draw to the attention of the Chief Executive Officer of the Courts Service matters that have come to his or her notice and that should, because of their gravity, be the subject of another report, and

• (b) shall make a report on any other matter if that Chief Executive Officer so requests.

• (5) The annual report shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas together with the annual report of the Courts Service.

• (6) A Legal Costs Adjudicator shall provide such information on his or her activities as the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator may, for the purpose of discharging his or her functions under sections 144 and 145 and this section, require.

147. Amendment of Court Officers Act 1926

147. Section 3(3) of the Court Officers Act 1926 is amended by substituting “Master of the High Court” for “Master of the High Court and the Taxing-Masters” in each place where it occurs.

148. Amendment of Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961

148. (1) The Eighth Schedule to the Courts (Supplemental Provisions) Act 1961 is amended—

• (a) in paragraph 2, by substituting “The Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators” for “The Taxing-Masters’ Office”,

• (b) in paragraph 3, by substituting “the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and the Legal Costs Adjudicators appointed in accordance with the other provisions of this Schedule” for “Two Taxing-Masters”,

• (c) by substituting the following for paragraph 8:

“8. The Office of the Legal Costs Adjudicators shall be under the management of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator, and there shall be transacted in that Office the business of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and the Legal Costs Adjudicators, other than such business as is required by law to be transacted by the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator in person.

8A. Each Legal Costs Adjudicator shall, in respect of the discharge of his or her functions and exercise of his or her powers, be subject to the general direction of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator.

8B. The hours of attendance and sitting times for oral hearings of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and of each Legal Costs Adjudicator shall be regulated by the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator.”,

• (d) by substituting the following for paragraph 18:

“18. (1) No person shall be appointed to be the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator, or a Legal Costs Adjudicator, unless —

• (a) that person is included in a group of not more than 5 persons who have been selected by the Public Appointments Service, after a competition for that purpose under section 47 of the Public Service Management (Recruitment and Appointments) Act 2004 has been held on behalf of the Minister for Justice and Equality, in order to find persons who are suitable to be selected as the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator, as the case may be, and

• (b) that person—

  • (i) has practised as a solicitor for a period of not less than 10 years,

  • (ii) has practised as a barrister for a period of not less than 10 years, or

  • (iii) has practised as a legal costs accountant, within the meaning of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, for a period of not less than 10 years.

• (2) In computing the periods referred to in subparagraph (1)(b) —

  • (a) in the case of a solicitor, periods during which a person has practised as a barrister or a legal costs accountant may be aggregated with the person’s practice as a solicitor,

  • (b) in the case of a barrister, periods during which a person has practised as a solicitor or a legal costs accountant may be aggregated with the person’s practice as a barrister,

  • (c) in the case of a legal costs accountant, periods during which a person has practised as a solicitor or barrister may be aggregated with the person’s practice as a legal costs accountant.

• (3) In applying subparagraph (2) no period of time may, as respects any person, be counted more than once.

• (4) A person appointed to be the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or, as the case may be, a Legal Costs Adjudicator, shall be appointed by the Government on the nomination, from amongst a group of persons referred to in subparagraph (1), of the Minister.

• (5) Notwithstanding any other enactment, the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator appointed pursuant to this paragraph—

  • (a) shall, subject to clauses (b) and (c), hold office for a period not exceeding 7 years,

  • (b) shall be required to retire on attaining the age of 70 years, and

  • (c) shall, on the expiry of the period referred to in clause (a), be taken to have been appointed under this paragraph as a Legal Costs Adjudicator for the period beginning on that expiry and ending on his or her attainment of the age of 70 years.

• (6) Notwithstanding any other enactment, a Legal Costs Adjudicator appointed pursuant to this paragraph—

  • (a) shall, subject to clauses (b) and (c), hold office for a period not exceeding 5 years,

  • (b) shall be required to retire on attaining the age of 70 years, and

  • (c) shall, subject to clause (b), be eligible for re-appointment or to have the term of appointment extended, but shall not hold office for periods the aggregate of which exceeds 10 years.

• (7) A person appointed pursuant to this paragraph may resign from office by notice in writing addressed to the Government and the resignation takes effect on the date the Government receives the notice or, if a date is specified in the notice and the Government agree to that date, on that date.

• (8) A person appointed pursuant to this paragraph immediately ceases to be the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator, as the case may be, on—

  • (a) being nominated as a member of Seanad Éireann,

  • (b) being elected as a member of either House of the Oireachtas or of the European Parliament,

  • (c) being regarded, pursuant to Part XIII of the Second Schedule to the European Parliament Elections Act 1997, as having been elected to be a member of the European Parliament,

  • (d) becoming a member of a local authority,

  • (e) being appointed to be a judge, or

  • (f) being appointed Attorney General.

• (9) A person shall be disqualified from being the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator during any period during which—

  • (a) he or she is entitled under the Standing Orders of either House of the Oireachtas to sit in that House,

  • (b) he or she is a member of the European Parliament, or

  • (c) he or she is entitled under the standing orders of a local authority to sit as a member of the local authority.

• (10) A period during which a solicitor or barrister is the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator shall be reckonable as a period of professional practice for the purposes of an application for appointment as a judge.

• (11) The Government may at any time remove the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator from office if—

  • (a) in the opinion of the Government, he or she has become incapable through ill-health of performing the functions of the office,

  • (b) he or she has committed stated misbehaviour,

  • (c) he or she has failed without reasonable cause, in the opinion of the Government, to perform the functions of the office for a continuous period of at least 3 months beginning not earlier than 6 months before the day of removal, or

  • (d) he or she has contravened to a material extent a provision of the Ethics in Public Office Acts 1995 and 2001 that, by virtue of a regulation under section 3 of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995, applies to him or her.

• (12) The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator ceases to hold office if he or she—

  • (a) is convicted on indictment of an offence,

  • (b) is convicted of an offence involving fraud or dishonesty,

  • (c) has a declaration under section 819 of the Companies Act 2014 made against him or her or is deemed to be subject to such a declaration by virtue of Chapter 5 of Part 14 of that Act,

  • (d) is subject or is deemed to be subject to a disqualification order, within the meaning of Chapter 4 of Part 14 of the Companies Act 2014, whether by virtue of that Chapter or any other provisions of that Act,

  • (e) is sentenced to a term of imprisonment by a court of competent jurisdiction, or

  • (f) is removed by a competent authority for any reason (other than failure to pay a fee) from any register established for the purpose of registering members of a profession in the State or in another jurisdiction.

• (13) The Government may appoint a person who would be eligible under this Part to be the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or, as the case may be, a Legal Costs Adjudicator, to temporarily fill a vacancy until an appointment is made under this paragraph, where the vacancy occurs because the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator—

  • (a) dies, resigns, becomes disqualified for or is removed from office, or

  • (b) is for any reason temporarily unable to continue to perform his or her functions as Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or, as the case may be, a Legal Costs Adjudicator.”,

and

• (e) in paragraph 19, by substituting “The Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator and each of the Legal Costs Adjudicators” for “Each of the Taxing-Masters”.

• (2) Subsection (1)(d) applies only as respects the appointment of the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator made after the coming into operation of this section.

Chapter 3 Legal practitioners’ duties in relation to legal costs

149. Prohibitions on charging costs in certain circumstances

149. (1) A legal practitioner shall not charge any amount in respect of legal costs if—

• (a) they are legal costs in connection with contentious business expressed as a specified percentage or proportion of any damages (or other moneys) that may be or become payable to his or her client, other than in relation to a matter seeking only to recover a debt or liquidated demand, or

• (b) they purport to set the legal costs to be charged to a junior counsel as a specified percentage or proportion of the legal costs paid to a Senior Counsel.

• (2) A legal practitioner shall not, without the prior written agreement of his or her client, deduct or appropriate any amount in respect of legal costs from the amount of any damages or moneys that become payable to the client in respect of legal services that the legal practitioner provided to the client.

150. Legal practitioner to provide notice of conduct of matter, costs, etc.

150. (1) A legal practitioner shall, whenever required to do so under this section, provide to his or her client a notice (in this section referred to as a “notice”) written in clear language that is likely to be easily understood by the client and that otherwise complies with this section.

• (2) On receiving instructions from a client, a legal practitioner shall provide the client with a notice which shall—

• (a) disclose the legal costs that will be incurred in relation to the matter F18[concerned,]

• (b) if it is not reasonably practicable for the notice to disclose the legal costs at that time, set out the basis on which the legal costs are to be F18[calculated, or]

• F19[(c) where the instructions relate to proceedings to which Chapter 2 of Part 9 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 applies, indicate whether or not the legal practitioner is willing to charge fees to the client, in respect of any item of legal work carried out in relation to the matter, only in accordance with the monetary amount standing prescribed under section 294 of the Planning and Development Act 2024 in respect of the item.]

• (3) Where subsection (2)(b) applies, the legal practitioner concerned shall, as soon as may be after it becomes practicable to do so, provide to the client a notice containing the information specified in subsection (2)(a).

• (4) A notice shall:

• (a) subject to subsection (2)(b), specify the amount of legal costs—

• (i) certified by the legal practitioner as having been incurred as at the date on which the notice is provided,

• (ii) certified by the legal practitioner to be of a fixed nature or otherwise certain to be incurred (or if it would be impracticable for the legal practitioner to so certify, the basis on which they are to be charged), and

• (iii) insofar as is practicable, certified by the legal practitioner to be likely to be incurred;

• (b) specify the amount of value-added tax to be charged in respect of the amounts referred to in paragraph (a);

• (c) set out the basis on which the amounts were or are to be calculated, explained by reference to the matters set out in paragraph 2 of Schedule 1;

• (d) contain a statement of the legal practitioner’s obligation under subsection (5);

• (e) if the matter which is the subject of the notice involves or is likely to involve litigation, provide—

• (i) an outline of the work to be done in respect of each stage of the litigation process and the costs or likely costs or basis of costs involved in respect of each such stage, including the likelihood of engaging a practising barrister, expert witnesses, or providers of other services,

• (ii) a statement of the legal practitioner’s obligation under subsection (6),

• (iii) information as to the likely legal and financial consequences of the client’s withdrawal from the litigation and its discontinuance, and

• (iv) information as to the circumstances in which the client would be likely to be required to pay the costs of one or more other parties to the litigation, and information as to the circumstances in which it would be likely that the costs of the legal practitioner would not be fully recovered from other parties to the litigation;

• (f) specify a period, which shall be not longer than 10 working days, for the purposes of subsection (7).

• (5) Where the legal practitioner becomes aware of any factor that would make the legal costs likely to be incurred in a matter significantly greater than those disclosed or indicated in a notice relating to that matter provided under this section, he or she shall, as soon as may be after he or she becomes aware of that factor, provide the client concerned with a new notice.

• (6) Where a matter which is the subject of a notice under this section involves or is likely to involve litigation, the legal practitioner shall not, in relation to that matter, engage a practising barrister, expert witness or provider of any other service without first, to the extent practicable—

• (a) ascertaining the likely cost or basis of cost of engaging the person,

• (b) providing the client with the information referred to in paragraph (a), and

• (c) having complied with paragraph (b), satisfying himself or herself of the client’s approval (whether express or implied) of the engaging of the person.

• (7) A legal practitioner shall not, during the period referred to in subsection (4)(f) that is specified in a notice, provide any legal services in relation to the matter concerned, unless—

• (a) the client concerned confirms that he or she wishes to instruct the legal practitioner to continue to provide legal services in connection with the matter concerned, or

(b)subsection (8) applies.

• (8) A legal practitioner to whom subsection (7) applies shall, notwithstanding that subsection, provide legal services in relation to the matter concerned where—

• (a) in the professional opinion of the legal practitioner, not to provide those legal services would constitute a contravention of a statutory requirement or the rules of court or would prejudice the rights of the client in a manner that could not later be remedied,

• (b) a court orders the legal practitioner to provide legal services to the client, or

• (c) where the matter involves litigation, a notice of trial has been served in relation to the matter or a date has been fixed for the hearing of the matter concerned.

• (9) The legal practitioner shall provide his or her client with clarification in relation to a notice, as soon as is reasonably practicable after having been requested to do so by the client.

• (10) Where a practising solicitor, having received instructions from a client in relation to a matter, proceeds to instruct a practising barrister in relation to that matter—

• (a) an obligation on the barrister under this section to provide a notice shall be fulfilled where the barrister provides the notice concerned to the solicitor,

• (b) a duty owed by the barrister under subsection (6), (7) or (9) to his or her client shall be construed as a duty owed by the barrister to the solicitor, and

• (c) the solicitor concerned shall—

• (i) where he or she considers it appropriate, or where requested to do so by the client, request the barrister to provide clarification in relation to a notice provided by the barrister, and

• (ii) immediately on receipt of a notice referred to in paragraph (a) or the clarification referred to in sub paragraph (i), provide that notice or clarification to the client.

151. Agreement regarding legal costs, etc.

151. (1) A legal practitioner and his or her client may make an agreement in writing concerning the amount, and the manner of payment, of all or part of the legal costs that are or may be payable by the client to the legal practitioner for legal services provided in relation to a matter.

• (2) An agreement under subsection (1) may include all the particulars required by section 150(4) and if it does—

• (a) the legal practitioner need not also provide a notice referred to in subsection (2) of that section, and

• (b) references to the notice under that section shall be taken to include references to the agreement.

• (3) An agreement under subsection (1) shall constitute the entire agreement between the legal practitioner and the client as respects the provision of legal services in relation to the matter concerned, and no other amount shall be chargeable in relation to those legal services, except to the extent otherwise indicated in the agreement.

• (4) An agreement under subsection (1) shall, in an adjudication under this Part, be amenable to adjudication by the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or a Legal Costs Adjudicator.

152. Legal practitioner to provide bill of costs

152. (1) A legal practitioner shall, as soon as is practicable after concluding the provision of legal services in relation to a legal matter for a client, prepare and sign a bill of costs, which shall contain the particulars specified in this section and shall be in such form (if any) as may be specified in rules of court.

• (2) Subject to subsections (5) to (7), a bill of costs shall contain the following particulars:

• (a) a summary of legal services provided to the client in connection with the matter concerned;

• (b) an itemised statement of the amounts in respect of the legal costs in connection with the legal services;

• (c) the registration number of the legal practitioner for the purposes of value-added tax, and the amount of value-added tax chargeable in respect of the amounts referred to in paragraph (b);

• (d) where time is a factor in the calculation of the legal costs concerned, the time spent in dealing with the matter;

• (e) the amount, where known to the legal practitioner, of any damages or other moneys that are recovered by, or payable to, the client and that arose from the matter in respect of which the legal services were provided;

• (f) the amount of any legal costs recovered by or payable to the legal practitioner concerned on behalf of the client, including costs recovered from another party, or an insurer on behalf of another party, to the matter concerned.

• (3) The legal practitioner shall provide to the client, along with the bill of costs, an explanation in writing of the procedure available to the client should the client wish to dispute any aspect of the bill of costs, which shall contain the following information:

• (a) that the client may discuss the matter with the legal practitioner;

• (b) that the client is obliged under section 153(1) to communicate to the legal practitioner the existence of a dispute on any aspect of the bill of costs, and the date and means by which this is to be communicated;

• (c) that, where a dispute is communicated under section 153(1), the legal practitioner is obliged under section 153 to attempt to resolve the dispute by informal means, including mediation;

• (d) that the client may have the dispute referred to mediation, including a reference to the procedures available for such mediation;

• (e) that the client may apply for adjudication of legal costs, including the contact information for the Office and the potential cost to the client of seeking an adjudication of a bill of costs; and

• (f) the date on which the legal practitioner may, subject to section 153, make an application under section 154(5) for an adjudication in the event that the bill of costs or any part thereof remains unpaid.

• (4) This section shall not be construed as limiting a right that any other person has to require a legal practitioner to submit a bill of costs for adjudication.

• (5) Where an agreement has been made under section 151 by a legal practitioner and his or her client, that agreement shall be set out in, or annexed to, the bill of costs relating to the matter to which the agreement relates.

• (6) Where an agreement referred to in subsection (5) concerns all of the legal costs that are payable by the client to the legal practitioner for legal services provided in relation to the matter concerned, an invoice prepared by the legal practitioner containing a summary of the costs and outlays pursuant to the agreement, together with a copy of the agreement, shall constitute a bill of costs of the purposes of this section.

• (7) Where an agreement referred to in subsection (5) concerns a part of the legal costs that are payable by the client to the legal practitioner for legal services provided in relation to the matter concerned, a summary prepared by the legal practitioner of the costs and outlays pursuant to the agreement shall, as respects that part of the legal costs, satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (a), (b) and (d) of subsection (2).

• (8) Where a practising solicitor, having received instructions from a client in relation to a matter, proceeds to instruct a practising barrister in relation to that matter, and the barrister has concluded providing legal services in relation to that matter—

• (a) an obligation on the barrister under this section to provide a bill of costs shall be fulfilled where the barrister provides the bill of costs concerned to the solicitor,

• (b) the solicitor concerned shall immediately on receipt of a bill of costs referred to in paragraph (a), provide that bill of costs to the client.

153. Legal practitioner to attempt to resolve dispute

153. (1) Where a client disputes any aspect of a bill of costs, he or she shall, within 21 days of the bill of costs being provided to him or her under section 152, send the legal practitioner concerned a statement in writing setting out the nature of the dispute.

• (2) Where a legal practitioner receives a statement in accordance with subsection (1), he or she shall, before making an application under section 154(5), take all appropriate and reasonable steps to attempt to resolve the dispute by informal means, which may include, where appropriate and with the consent of the client, mediation.

• (3) Where the legal practitioner or the client, as the case may be, having made reasonable attempts to resolve the dispute in accordance with subsection (2), is of the opinion that the attempt has failed, he or she shall inform the other party in writing of that opinion.

• (4) In reckoning the period of time for the purposes of subsection (5) or (7) of section 154, the period beginning on the date on which the client sends the legal practitioner a statement under subsection (1) and ending on the date on which the legal practitioner or the client, as the case may be, informs the other party of his or her opinion referred to in subsection (3), shall be disregarded.

• (5) Failure by a client to pay a bill of costs to a legal practitioner within the time period referred to in section 154(5) shall not be construed as a formal communication of the existence of a dispute by the client to the legal practitioner.

Chapter 4 Adjudication of legal costs

154. Application for adjudication of legal costs

154. (1) In a case where a person is ordered by a court, tribunal or other body to pay, in whole or in part, the legal costs of another person, the person whose legal costs are to be paid by reason of that order shall furnish a bill of costs to the person who is the subject of the order to pay the legal costs, in a form and manner consistent with—

• (a) the terms of the order,

• (b) this Act, and

• (c) any rules of court relating to the preparation and furnishing of bills of costs in a case to which this subsection refers.

• (2) F20[Subject to section 154A, where] a person who is the subject of the order to pay costs receives a bill of costs prepared in accordance with subsection (1), that person may, having attempted to agree the bill of costs with the person referred to in subsection (1), apply to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for adjudication on any matter or item claimed in the bill of costs.

• (3) Where a person in whose favour the order to pay costs has been made issues a bill of costs prepared in accordance with subsection (1), that person, having attempted to resolve any dispute regarding the bill of costs with the person who is the subject of the order, may apply to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for the bill of costs or any matter or item in the bill of costs to be adjudicated upon.

• (4) Where a legal practitioner provides a bill of costs in accordance with section 152 to his or her client and the client considers that any matter or item or the amount charged in respect of any matter or item in the bill of costs is not properly chargeable, taking account of the provisions of this Act, and any rules of court relating to costs payable to legal practitioners by clients, the client may apply to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for the bill of costs or any matter or item in the bill of costs to be adjudicated upon.

• (5)
• (a) Where a legal practitioner provides a bill of costs in accordance with section 152 to his or her client and the bill of costs or any part thereof remains unpaid on the expiry of a period of 30 days from the date on which the bill of costs was provided, the legal practitioner may apply to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for the bill of costs or any matter or item in the bill of costs to be adjudicated upon.

• (b) Where a barrister has, in accordance with section 152(8), provided a bill of costs to a solicitor, and the bill of costs or any part thereof remains unpaid on the expiry of a period of 30 days from the date on which the bill of costs was provided, the solicitor concerned may, with the consent of the barrister, apply to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for the bill of costs or any matter or item in the bill of costs to be adjudicated upon.

• (c) An application to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator pursuant to paragraph (a) or (b) may not be made after the expiry of 12 months after the date on which the bill of costs concerned was provided to the client under section 152.

• (6) Where the legal practitioner applies for adjudication pursuant to subsection (5), the legal practitioner shall indicate whether or not he or she is aware of any dispute regarding an item in the bill of costs and if so aware the matter to which the dispute relates.

• (7) Subject to subsection (8), an application to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator by a client pursuant to subsection (4) may not be made after the expiry of 6 months after the date on which the bill of costs concerned was provided to the client under section 152, or 3 months from the date of payment of the bill of costs, whichever first occurs, so long as the bill of costs is in a form and manner consistent with—

• (a) this Act, and

• (b) any rules of court relating to the preparation and provision of bills of costs by a legal practitioner to a client.

• (8) Where a bill of costs has been provided by a legal practitioner to his or her client and the legal practitioner has agreed to accept a lesser amount in discharge of the bill of costs which lesser amount is paid, neither the legal practitioner nor the client may make an application to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator for adjudication of the bill of costs under this section.

• (9) A legal practitioner who has provided a bill of costs in accordance with section 152 to his or her client may apply ex parte to the High Court or to a Legal Costs Adjudicator for the abridgement of the period of 30 days referred to in subsection (5) and, where it appears that it is just to do so, the Court or the Legal Costs Adjudicator, as appropriate, may grant an abridgement of that period.

• (10) Rules of court may make provision for—

• (a) the giving of notice of the application for adjudication to other parties or to such other persons as the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator shall direct, including the manner in which notice is to be given,

• (b) the furnishing of documents, records and vouchers to the Chief Legal Costs Adjudicator or to other parties to the adjudication,

• (c) the circumstances and manner in which written submissions are to be provided for the purposes of an F21[adjudication,]