On what grounds can government lawyers' rates be challenged?

12/10/2015

Dispute Resolution analysis: Adam Pipe, barrister at No.8 Chambers, considers the decision in R v Bakhtiyar and says it will now be more difficult to challenge government lawyers' chargeable rates by comparison.

Original news

R (on the application of Bakhtiyar) v Secretary of State for the Home Department IJR [2015] UKUT 519 (IAC), [2015] All ER (D) 97 (Sep) The claimant challenged the order that he pay the defendant Secretary of State her costs of £400 for acknowledgement of service (AoS) and summary grounds. The Upper Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) (UT), in dismissing the application, gave guidance on the application of the indemnity principle to the Secretary of State and the Government Legal Department (GLD). It then held that there was 'not the remotest scope' for the argument that £200 per hour was an unreasonably high rate.