The Supreme Court expressed its position on the reimbursement of legal assistance expenses.

The Supreme Court, represented by the panel of judges of the Cassation Administrative Court (CAC SC), expressed its legal position on the reimbursement of expenses for professional legal assistance.

This is outlined in the ruling of the CAC SC dated August 20, 2024, in case No. 420/22020/23, as reported by the Fifth Administrative Court of Appeal.

The CAC SC stated that issues related to legal assistance expenses are governed by Article 134 of the Code of Administrative Procedure (CAP). According to Part 2 of this article, expenses for legal assistance provided by an attorney are subject to allocation between the parties along with other court costs, except for expenses incurred by a public authority for legal assistance.

To determine the amount of legal assistance expenses and for the purpose of allocating court costs, a party must submit a detailed description of the work performed (services provided) by the attorney and the expenses incurred in providing legal assistance.

The principle of proportionality of legal assistance expenses is established in Part 5 of Article 134, which states that the amount of attorney fees must be proportional to:

1. The complexity of the case and the work performed (services provided) by the attorney.
2. The time spent by the attorney on the work (services).
3. The scope of services provided and work performed.
4. The value of the claim and/or the significance of the case for the party, including the impact of the case resolution on the party's reputation or public interest.

According to Part 6 of Article 134, if the requirements of Part 5 are not met, the court may, upon a motion from the opposing party, reduce the amount of legal assistance expenses to be allocated between the parties.

Part 7 of Article 139 CAP establishes that the amount of expenses paid or to be paid by a party in connection with the case consideration is determined by the court based on the evidence provided by the parties (contracts, invoices, etc.). Such evidence must be submitted before the end of court debates or within five days after the court’s decision, provided the party made a corresponding statement before the debates ended. If no statement was made or the evidence is not submitted within the specified timeframe, the claim will remain unconsidered.

Thus, an analysis of the above procedural law provisions demonstrates that resolving the issue of reimbursing legal assistance expenses requires the party to provide evidence of the scope of services provided and their cost, paid or payable by the respective party.