The Criminal Legal Aid (Recovery of Defence Costs Orders) Regulations 2013
The Criminal Legal Aid (Recovery of Defence Costs Orders) Regulations 2013 (“the Regulations”) provide that where an individual receives legal aid for representation under Part 1 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c.10) in relation to criminal proceedings before any court other than the magistrates’ court or the Crown Court, the court hearing the proceedings must, unless an exception applies, make a determination at the conclusion of the proceedings requiring the individual to pay some or all of the cost of their representation. Such determinations are to be recorded in a document known as a Recovery of Defence Costs Order (an “RDCO”).