Lawyer fees in 71-defendant case could reach 36.7 million krónur

Defence costs in a criminal case involving 71 defendants are already estimated at tens of millions of krónur, mbl.is reports, even before the main hearing begins.

Lawyers interviewed by mbl.is said they had spent at least 20 hours on the case so far. That includes time at last week’s court hearing and a hearing this week, as well as reviewing the indictment, speaking with defendants and other case-related work. The indictment and civil claim together run to 153 pages.

About 30 defendants have admitted the charges, while 37 to 38 have denied them. Several have not stated their position or appeared in court. At a hearing this week, 32 defendants appeared; 19 admitted the charges, and 16 cases were resolved as guilty-plea cases.

Under court administration rules, lawyers are paid 27,000 krónur per hour. At 20 hours each, fees for the roughly 30 defendants who have admitted the charges would total about 16.2 million krónur. Adding the 37 to 38 defendants who have denied the charges brings the estimate to about 36.7 million krónur. The article says the estimate is likely conservative, and costs are expected to rise during a main hearing that could last several days.

The estimate does not include interpreters, who have provided services in languages including English, Romanian and Russian. The Icelandic state initially pays criminal case costs, then may seek reimbursement from defendants as ordered by the court; how much it recovers depends on each defendant’s financial circumstances.

For comparison, lawyers in the Bankastræti Club case were awarded a total of 123 million krónur after a seven-day trial, averaging 4.9 million krónur per defendant.