Supreme Court: Advocates for alcoholics and drug addicts are not entitled to additional payment

Increased pay for lawyers by appointment, defending people with physical or mental disabilities, does not apply to defenders of alcoholics and drug addicts. This is stated in the decision of the plenum of the Supreme Court (SC) of Russia.

According to RIA Novosti with reference to the document, the resolution clarifies the application of the “Regulations on the reimbursement of procedural costs”. It provides for payments from the budget to lawyers whose wards cannot pay for the services of a defense lawyer on their own. The monetary allowance of such a lawyer is from 1.5 to 2 thousand rubles. per day of work, but if the client has physical or mental disabilities, the amount increases: from 1784 rubles. up to 2.5 thousand rubles. in a day.

The decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation states that an additional payment is due to a lawyer only in cases where, due to such shortcomings, the accused could not independently exercise his right to defense.

“The establishment of certain mental or behavioral abnormalities in a person associated with an emotionally unstable state of a person, alcohol or drug addiction, in itself cannot be a sufficient basis for the application of this rule,” the Supreme Court of Russia explained.

Daria Erozbek