The Home Affairs Bureau says the Government will maintain dialogue with the Law Society which has planned to boycott criminal cases funded by legal aid.

Urging the early termination of the boycott, the bureau today said Government spending on assigned-out criminal legal-aid cases will rise from $90 million to $190 million. The remuneration of solicitors engaged will be increased up to 400%, depending on the case.

The bureau said the increase represents the best possible level the Government can achieve amid the recent financial turmoil.

In addition to adopting the principles of prudent utilisation of public funds, the Government has taken into account other factors including the Law Society's demand to attract more solicitors to take up criminal legal-aid work, the division of labour between counsel and solicitors in criminal-aid cases, and remuneration of Government lawyers.

It is believed the boycott will not affect the provision of services because in addition to assigning criminal legal aid cases to assigned solicitors, the Legal Aid Department also arranges for in-house lawyers to handle the cases.