Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2000 and shall come into force on 1st April 2000.

(2) In this Order “the Act” means the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990.

Revocation of 1998 Order

2.  The Conditional Fee Agreements Order 1998(3) is revoked.

Agreements providing for success fees

3.  All proceedings which, under section 58 of the Act, can be the subject of an enforceable conditional fee agreement, except proceedings under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(4), are proceedings specified for the purposes of section 58(4)(a) of the Act.

Amount of for success fees

4.  In relation to all proceedings specified in article 3, the percentage specified for the purposes of section 58(4)(c) of the Act shall be 100%.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Order)

Under sections 58 and 58A of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, all proceedings may be the subject of an enforceable fee agreement except specified family proceedings and criminal proceedings other than those under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. This Order specifies the proceedings to which a conditional fee agreement must relate if it is to provide for a success fee. These are all proceedings which may be the subject of a conditional fee agreement except criminal proceedings under section 82 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

Under section 58(4)(c) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, the Order also sets a maximum success fee percentage of 100% for all conditional fee agreements which provide for such fees.