Criminal defence attorney cost in Luxembourg (2026)

Full-matter estimates (ex TVA, typical brackets):

• Minor traffic or contravention, tribunal de police — €1 200–€2 500
• Tribunal correctionnel, single defendant, 1–2 hearings — €6 000–€12 000
• Tribunal correctionnel, multiple defendants or documents-heavy — €12 000–€22 000
• Chambre du conseil for pre-trial detention — €2 500–€6 000 per instance
• Appel correctionnel — €4 000–€9 000
• Cour d'assises with full trial — €25 000–€60 000
• Cassation criminelle — €3 500–€8 000

A 30-hour file at €300/h lands at €9 000 ex TVA, €10 530 TTC. Note that TVA 17 % applies to natural-person clients; cross-border corporate mandates may use the reverse-charge mechanism.

Add procedural disbursements (frais de justice): expertise €800–€3 500, sworn interpreter per hearing €150–€400, court administrative fees when applicable.

• Procedural stage. An instruction préparatoire (investigative phase) with witness hearings and confrontations absorbs 15–40 hours before the audience is even scheduled. Counsel must review the dossier, file réquisitoires, attend interrogations.
• File volume. A white-collar dossier with 8 000 pages requires 60–120 hours of reading before pleading; a street-offence dossier of 60 pages takes 3–5.
• Number of co-defendants. Each additional defendant introduces coordination, information-barrier protocols, and additional hearings.
• Cross-border elements. European arrest warrant, mutual legal assistance under EU directives, correspondent counsel abroad at €180–€400/h — stack quickly.
• Expert work. Handwriting, forensic IT, financial reconstruction — expert fees €800–€6 500 depending on scope. The expert bills separately; counsel coordinates.
• Media exposure. High-profile cases requiring press-statement coordination and ethics-bureau advice add 5–15 hours.
• Victim party. If the matter involves partie civile, counsel must also respond to their claims — additional 10–30 hours.

A medium-complexity correctionnel file is typically 25–40 counsel hours. A white-collar matter with expert reports can pass 150 hours over 18 months.

A serious LU criminal defence mandate is documented in a lettre d'engagement. Read every paragraph before signing.

Standard inclusions:

• Scope: named proceeding, named court, named parties, named defendants, named counts of accusation
• Hourly rate of the assigned avocat and of associate/stagiaire support
• Estimated hour range per procedural phase
• Retainer (provision) amount and replenishment mechanism
• Reporting rhythm (monthly time-and-billing statement)
• Confidentiality and attorney-client privilege under LU Code de déontologie
• Conflict check and clean register
• Termination protocol on both sides
• TVA and payment terms

Usually excluded — billed separately:

• Court fees (droits de greffe) and administrative levies
• Expert reports and forensic work
• Translator and interpreter fees
• Travel expenses beyond Luxembourg-Ville (€0,35/km and time)
• International correspondent counsel fees
• Courier and notarisation charges

What should never appear:

• A contingent fee tied to the outcome (pacte de quota litis) — prohibited in criminal matters under LU deontology
• An unlimited fee cap that the client cannot assess
• A one-sided termination clause

Ask for a lettre in French, German, English or Luxembourgish as you prefer — counsel regularly issues all four.

Criminal defence in Luxembourg is practised exclusively by advocates inscribed on Liste I of the Barreau de Luxembourg or Barreau de Diekirch. The Code de déontologie governs conflict of interest, conservation of funds and fee transparency.

Aide judiciaire. Under loi du 18 août 1995 and amendments, low-income defendants can apply for aide judiciaire at the Barreau. Criteria: revenue below a threshold indexed on the salaire social minimum (2026 ceiling approximately €1 850 net per month for a single adult, €2 950 for a household of two adults plus children). A dossier lodged at the bar office results in appointment of a designated avocat, fees paid by the state at tariff rates. A defendant in detention obtains counsel through aide judiciaire within 24 hours of the initial interrogation.

Commission d'office. At first interrogation before the juge d'instruction, a defendant without counsel is immediately assigned an avocat de permanence, who is paid through aide judiciaire if the defendant qualifies, or at private rates if the defendant then chooses to continue with that counsel.

TVA 17 %. Applies on legal fees for natural-person LU residents. Businesses established in another EU member state receive invoices under reverse-charge. Non-EU clients: no TVA on cross-border services.

Communes and courts. Most criminal matters are heard at the Cité judiciaire in Luxembourg-Ville; tribunal de police of Diekirch for the northern cantons; Cour supérieure de justice for appeals.

Criminal defence is not a commodity — seniority, specialism and bench rapport matter more than hourly rate. Compare three counsel on qualitative criteria first, fee second.

Brief pack for three counsel:

• Summary of the facts as you understand them
• Any existing documents (police procès-verbal, notification d'inculpation, witness statements)
• Timeline of procedural events so far
• Your desired outcome range (acquittal, minimum sentence, plea structure)
• Deadline of the next procedural step

Six comparison checks:

• Specialism match. A white-collar case needs financial-crime specialism; a violent-crime case needs trial practice — don't mix
• Team composition. Senior partner pleading with stagiaire support is normal; stagiaire-only defence on a correctionnel is a warning
• Track record. Ask for comparable cases without naming clients — experienced counsel will describe them freely
• Reporting cadence. Monthly time-and-billing report, named partner point of contact
• Fee transparency. Phase-based estimate with upper bound per phase, not an unlimited "as required"
• Availability. Defence at a specific hearing requires advance calendar lock — no promise is worse than a missed hearing

Pick on fit, not price. The cheapest counsel at a Cour d'assises is rarely the right choice; the best-matched mid-rate counsel usually is.

• Expert appointment. The juge d'instruction may appoint an expert at party expense — €800–€6 500 per expertise, payable in advance into the Caisse des dépôts.
• Interpreter. Every non-French/German/Luxembourgish proceeding needs a sworn interpreter: €60–€120/h, minimum 2 h per hearing.
• Travel. Counsel travel to a hearing outside Luxembourg-Ville (Diekirch, Wiltz): time billed plus €0,35/km.
• International correspondent. A Belgian, French or German correspondent for part of the proceedings: €180–€400/h.
• Appeal deadlines. Missing an appeal deadline because of late counsel engagement can be catastrophic; ensure counsel confirms all deadlines in writing within 48 hours of engagement.
• Detention review. Each chambre du conseil review during pre-trial detention costs €1 500–€3 500 — budget for monthly reviews.

Red flags — decline the mandate:

• Hourly rate refused in writing
• No written lettre d'engagement within 5 business days
• Suggestion of a contingency fee in a criminal matter — prohibited
• Partner unavailable at named hearings without written substitution plan
• Conflict not checked and documented
• Criminal file transferred to stagiaire with no senior oversight
• Fees billed without phase-tracking attachment