Court-appointed duty scheme: public hearing opened to update fee scales in central-government territory, with cumulative rises of up to 79.7%

The Spanish Bar Association (Consejo General de la Abogacía Española) announced on 20 October the publication of the public hearing and information procedure for the Order that will update the financial amounts for the services listed in Annex II of the legal aid regulation, approved by Royal Decree 141/2021 of 9 March, for the territory managed directly by the State. In practical terms, this is the step that precedes a new pay rise for court-appointed duty lawyers in the territory run by the Ministry of the Presidency, Justice and Relations with the Cortes.

The Bar welcomed the start of the procedure as "very positive news" that answers one of its main demands: improving the financial and professional conditions of those who provide the duty scheme service, work it describes as essential to guarantee the right of defence and effective access to justice.

Cumulative rises of between 16.6% and 79.7%

According to the figures released by the institution, the update planned in this Order, added to the one approved in 2025, would leave cumulative increases of 16.6% across the board, 79.7% in the defence of criminal cases of special complexity and 33.1% in general criminal proceedings.

The future Order comes on top of the amendment of the legal aid regulation that introduced 16 new modules that did not exist in 2018, extending financial recognition to services such as victim assistance, appropriate dispute resolution methods (MASC), transactions and insolvency proceedings. We analysed that reform in Duty scheme: the new modules of Royal Decree 824/2026.

Why now

The institution led by Salvador González explains that, given the calling of elections, which made other advances in the new Legal Aid Act impossible, it has continued working with the Ministry to drive an update of the fee scales that complements the rise approved in 2025. The regulatory route of a ministerial Order allows fees to be improved without the need for a legal reform.

The procedure is now at the public hearing and information stage, the phase in which any citizen or organisation may submit comments on the draft before its final approval.

The Bar prepares its observations

The Bar's Legal Aid and Social Function Commission, chaired by Ángel Méndez, will analyse the draft and submit the observations it deems appropriate in defence of duty scheme professionals. The institution warns it will keep demanding other substantial improvements for the lawyers attached to this service.

For the thousands of lawyers who combine private practice with duty shifts, the update is no minor matter: the Annex II modules determine what is paid for each service, from assisting a detainee to defending at trial, and their drift from the real cost of the service has been a constant complaint of the profession, as our editorial on the duty scheme and MASC without agreement recalled.

What follows the hearing

Once the public hearing period ends and the comments received have been studied, the Ministry may approve the final Order with the new amounts. Only then will the rises become enforceable for services rendered in central-government territory. Lawyers attached to the duty scheme in regions with transferred powers must follow their own regional fee scales, which are updated by their own rules, not by this Order.

In the meantime, it is worth reviewing the published draft in detail: the module structure determines not only the amount of each service, but also which items are recognised and which remain excluded. The experience of previous reforms advises submitting technical observations, both from bar associations and from duty-scheme lawyers' associations.

We will keep reporting in our Legal news section on the outcome of the hearing and the final approval of the Order with the specific amounts per service.