This is a useful collection of materials, sorted by subject, but without commentary or explanation.

For example, part 1 covers civil proceedings and includes: exhaustive extracts from the Civil Procedure Rules, extracts from LASPO, tables setting out the level of fixed costs where they are applicable in particular types of case, guideline hourly rates for summary assessment, and civil legal aid remuneration rates paid under the various schemes. Part 2 follows the same general format, for criminal proceedings.

There are sections that sweep up miscellaneous provisions and fees. Not only have the editors collated the fees applicable for most court applications (for example, the Crown Office fee for the ‘Determination of an abeyance of a Barony’ is £209 – who knew?) but they have included a wide range of further material, such as the fees payable under the Immigration and Nationality (Fees) Regulations 2014.

The constant revisions to rates, fees etc means that the encyclopaedia requires annual editions, and even so cannot be relied upon unquestioningly.

The section with durable relevance is part 5, which lists hundreds of important costs cases with a one-sentence description of the issue decided therein.

Generally the editors have succeeded in including all the key information; the sole lacuna of importance that I have found is that, unfortunately, the rates applicable to certificated funding subject to a high cost case plan are omitted. An index would also have been helpful.

In summary, a practical text that would be an asset to costs practitioners, but of limited utility to the rest of the profession.

Publisher: Class Legal (£60)

James Packer is director of Duncan Lewis

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