"Contingent Fee" of a Lawyer and its Relation with the Institution of Court Costs

The article considers the legal nature of the "contingent fee". It is determined to be one of the forms of a lawyer's fee with its inherent functional features. These features determine the choice of such a form of a lawyer’s labour payment that is the most acceptable for himself and for the client taking into account the circumstances of the case and the will of the parties. The general and special functions of the lawyer's fee and the "contingent fee" are highlighted relying the conditions and peculiarities of the procedure for lawyer's services paying in these two forms. The "contingent fee" is recognized to be an additional social guarantee for low-income individuals that gives them an additional opportunity to freely choose a highly qualified and, at the same time, highly paid lawyer as well as a tool to overcome economic barriers to justice access. The "contingent fee" itself is noted to be regulated in different ways by the world legislation that determines its division into subspecies depending on the calculating procedure’s amount of such a fee and the content of the deferral condition for its payment in the future provided in the treaty for the supply of legal assistance. The positive consequences of using the "contingent fee" in the national system of professional legal assistance are analysed, in particular, the availability of unique opportunities for the development of legal business in Ukraine through the introduction of the judicial investment institution. The use of the "contingent fee" is one of the investment procedure’s key elements within the funding process protection of human rights and freedoms in legal process. The correlation of the "contingent fee" with the institution of court costs is traced. The "contingent fee" is interfered to be perceived differently in the context of the relation with the costs incurred in connection with the exercise of the right to judicial protection. The main approaches to the possibility of recovering the paying of the "contingent fee" cost from the defendant are covered. The solution of this issue is stated to be considered by the legislature, and currently the main source of its settlement is the jurisprudence and clarification of the advocates’ self-management bodies