Very High Cost Case Fee Scheme - Terms of Appointment
Annex B - Glossary
"Barrister" or "Counsel" means a member of the independent Bar appearing on the approved list of prosecuting counsel instructed by the Crown Prosecution Service.
"Case Auditor" means a person appointed to audit and pay the fees in a Very High Cost Case, Court of Appeal and higher court cases.
"Conference" means a meeting between counsel and the reviewing lawyer (or a CPS representative) to discuss preparation and presentation of the case. A conference that takes place without CPS representation will only be paid if the reviewing lawyer agrees the conference is necessary in advance of the meeting or if such a conference was necessary and the reviewing lawyer could not be contacted.
"Appeal Committee" means the committee with the function of determining appeals under these arrangements.
"CBDU" means Court Business Delivery Unit, part of the Business Development Directorate, CPS Headquarters.
"Fraud Case" means a case in which the offence with which the defendant is charged is primarily, or substantially, founded on allegations of fraud or other serious financial impropriety or involves complex financial transactions or records.
"Head of Fees" means a person employed by the CPS with the title 'Head of Fees'.
"NOFF" means a Notification of Fees Form used by the CPS to notify counsel of payment of fees.
"Other Hearing" means any Crown Court hearing in a Very High Cost Case held in advance of the first day of trial / preparatory hearing or any Crown Court hearing held after the conclusion of the trial.
"Preparatory Hearing" means a hearing ordered by the court in accordance with section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1987 or section 29 of the Criminal Procedures and Investigations Act 1996. The preparatory hearing shall be counted as the first day of trial.
"Prosecution documentation" means all material sent to Prosecution Counsel in advice cases, or all material excluding unused material sent to counsel in Crown Court cases.
"Refresher" means any day between the start and end of the trial on which counsel is required to attend court and the court sits.
"Return" means a brief that is returned by counsel to another counsel or CPS higher court advocate because they are unable to represent the prosecution at trial or the main hearing.
"Significant" means an issue of sufficient weight and complexity that makes the case different from other cases of the same type thereby increasing its comparative value.
"Stage" means a period of time (normally 8 weeks) agreed by the reviewing lawyer and counsel in which the Trial Team will conduct pre-trial preparation.
"Terrorism Case" means a case in which the main offence with which the defendant is charged, whether at common law or under the statutory enactment, is primarily, or subsequently, founded on allegations of terrorism as defined in the Terrorism Act 2002.
"Timely Payment" means a payment made to counsel within 20 working days of receipt of a valid invoice.
"Trial Team" means the CPS reviewing lawyer, the higher court advocate, the CPS caseworker and counsel instructed to prosecute the case on behalf of the CPS.
"Very High Cost Case" or "VHCC" means a case with regard to which if the case proceeds to trial, that trial is likely to last 41 days or longer and is so endorsed on the Plea and Case Management Hearing questionnaire or a case with three or more trial counsel instructed in the preparation and presentation of the case.
"Very High Cost Fraud Case" means a case that is a Fraud Case and a Very High Cost Case.
"Work Records" means an auditable record in an agreed format completed at or about the time that the work was undertaken, and particularising the time spent by counsel on specific items of work on a specific day.
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