12.1 Advice on Appeal to the Court of Appeal Criminal Division

The ‘Guide to Proceedings in the Court of Appeal Criminal Division’ www.courtservice.gov.uk/cms/media/proc_guide.pdf published in 1997 and in particular Appendix 1 to the Guide sets out the procedure to be followed. This procedure requires written advice to be delivered to the defendant within 21 days of conviction or sentence, but in straightforward cases this will involve little or no expense. If the procedure is not followed fees may be reduced.

12.2 The advocate should receive instructions in the form set out in Appendix 1 to the Guide from the defendant’s solicitors which will specifically refer to the Guide. The advocate is required to complete the form immediately following the conclusion of the case and the solicitor should give a copy to the defendant at that stage. If the advocate’s immediate and final view is that there are no reasonable grounds of appeal an additional fee for the advice will not normally be allowed. In other circumstances the advocate must further advise in writing within the following 14 days and, where it is considered reasonable for the applicant so to advise, allowance will be made for that advice.

12.3 Doubts sometimes arise as to where the appropriate advice should be charged. Where both (a) the advocate or the solicitor has given positive to advice to appeal and (b) notice of application for leave to appeal or a notice of appeal has been lodged with the Crown Court on the strength of that advice, the appropriate claim should be made to the Registrar of Criminal Appeals and should not be claimed in the Crown Court bill. Where however, no notice of application is given, either because of unfavourable advice or despite the favourable advice, the appropriate authority is the appropriate officer of the Crown Court.