New duty-lawyer invoice implemented starting today

The Ministry of Justice has reminded that starting today, a new duty-lawyer invoice is implemented at all non-Public Defence Service (PDS) court sites.

The ministry said that the new invoice, which it said is more streamlined and is faster for duty lawyers to complete, worked well in testing at PDS sites.

It said that invoices will be located in a central place. All invoices must be submitted by the court for payment. It also reminded duty lawyers to include travel claims with the invoice and not send them separately. It said that deputy registrars will continue to sign invoices.

“We ask for your support in completing the invoices each day when you are at court and appreciate full information being provided in legible writing. This assists us in paying your invoices in a timely manner,” it said.

Misprint

The ministry has also advised that the new Amendment to Grant Form 51 has a printing mistake. The firm indicates disbursements for printing disclosure in criminal cases are pre-approved up to a maximum of $500 (or 500 pages at $0.10 per page). This should read as 5,000 pages.

It said that it is reviewing invoice forms and will correct the Amendment to Grant Form 51 when improvements to the invoice forms are released.