Civil Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1989

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 1989/339
Year1989

1989No. 339

LEGAL AID AND ADVICE, ENGLAND AND WALES

The Civil Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1989

3rdMarch1989

8thMarch1989

1stApril1989

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART I

General

1. Citation, commencement, revocations and transitional provisions.

2. Scope.

3. Interpretation.

4. Area committees, Area Directors and legal aid areas.

5. Powers exercisable by courts.

6. Powers exercisable by Area Directors.

7. Computation of time.

8. Service of notices.

9. Availability of documents to the court.

PART II

Applications for certificates

10. Applications to be made to Area Directors.

11. Form and lodgment of application.

12. Contents of application.

13. Applications by persons resident outside the United Kingdom.

14. Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985.

15. Registration of certain foreign orders and judgments.

16. Application on behalf of minors and patients.

17. Power to transfer application to another area office.

18. Reference to the assessment officer for assessment of resources.

PART III

Emergency Applications

19. Application for emergency certificate.

20. Refusal of emergency certificate.

21. Issue and effect of emergency certificate.

22. Duration of emergency certificate.

23. Merger in substantive certificate.

24. Extension and expiry of emergency certificate.

25. Notification of extension of emergency certificate.

PART IV

Determination of applications

26. Power to notify other parties of application.

27. Financial eligibility.

28. Eligibility on the merits.

29. Refusal where advantage trivial or on account of nature of proceedings.

30. Refusal where other rights or facilities available.

31. Determination of contribution.

32. Proceedings in which others have an interest.

33. Application in representative, fiduciary or official capacity.

PART V

Refusal of applications

34. Notification of refusal.

35. Right of appeal against refusal.

36. Time and form of appeal.

37. Nature of appeal.

38. Representation at appeal or other final application.

39. Determination of appeal.

40. Repeated refusals of certificates.

41. Power to make prohibitory directions.

PART VI

Issue and effect of certificates

42. Issue of certificate where no contribution may be payable.

43. Offer of certificate where contribution payable.

44. Undertaking to account for sums received from third parties.

45. Acceptance and issue of certificate where contribution payable.

46. Scope of certificates.

47. Certificates to specify parties to proceedings.

48. Power to restrict costs allowable to distant solicitor.

49. Effect of certificates.

50. Notification of issue of certificates.

PART VII

Amendment of certificate and adjustment of contribution

51. Power to amend certificates.

52. Power to alter contribution and amend certificate.

53. Making and determination of applications for amendment.

54. Procedure on issue of amendment.

55. Right to show cause on application to remove limitation.

56. Procedure on refusal of amendment.

57. Right of appeal against refusal of amendment.

58. Determination of appeal against refusal of amendment.

PART VIII

Authority to incur costs

59. Instructing counsel.

60. Power of Board to give general authority.

61. Other cases where authority may be sought.

62. Reasons to be given for refusing authority.

63. Effect of obtaining and failing to obtain authority.

64. Restriction on payment otherwise than from the fund.

PART IX

Conduct of Proceedings

65. Restrictions on entrusting case to others.

66. Duty to report changes of circumstances.

67. Duty to report abuse of legal aid.

68. Power of court to refer abuse to Area Director.

69. Duty to report on refusing or giving up case.

70. Duty to report progress of proceedings.

71. Duty to report death etc., of assisted person.

72. Duty to report completion of case.

73. Privilege, etc., not to prevent disclosure.

PART X

Revocation and Discharge of Certificates

74. Effect of revocation or discharge.

75. Revocation or discharge of emergency certificate.

76. Discharge of certificate on financial grounds.

77. Discharge on the merits.

78. Power to revoke or discharge for abuse of legal aid.

79. Power to revoke or discharge for failure to provide information etc.

80. Further power to discharge.

81. Opportunity to show cause against revocation or discharge.

82. Notification of revocation or discharge.

83. Effect of revocation or discharge on retainer.

84. Costs to be taxed or assessed on revocation or discharge.

85. Operation of statutory charge.

86. Right to recover costs and contribution.

PART XI

Property and Costs recovered for Assisted Persons

87. Money recovered to be paid to solicitor or the Board.

88. Notice to trustee in bankruptcy, etc.

89. Exceptions to regulation 87.

90. Solicitor to pay moneys recovered to the Board.

91. Enforcement of orders, etc., in favour of assisted person.

92. Retention and payment out of moneys by the Board.

93. Operation of statutory charge on moneys in court.

94. Exemptions from the statutory charge.

95. Vesting and enforcement of charges.

96. Postponement of enforcement of charges over money.

97. Postponement of enforcement of charges over land.

98. Substitution of charged property.

99. Payment and recovery of interest.

PART XII

Costs of Assisted Persons

100. Payment on account.

101. Payment on account of disbursements, in cases of hardship, etc.

102. Deferment of solicitor's profit costs.

103. Legal aid granted after costs incurred.

104. Remuneration of counsel and solicitors in the Crown Court and magistrates' courts.

105. Assessment of costs.

106. Agreement in respect of costs.

107. Taxation of costs.

108. Failure to apply for taxation.

109. Disallowance or reduction of costs.

110. Solicitor's duty to safeguard the interests of the fund.

111. Costs of applications, reports etc., under these Regulations.

112. Duty to inform counsel.

113. Application to carry in objections to the taxation.

114. Application to judge to review taxation.

115. Appeal from review of taxation.

116. Counsel dissatisfied with taxation.

117. Objection by other party.

118. Assisted person having no interest or adverse interest in taxation.

119. Assisted person having financial interest in taxation.

120. Costs to be paid out of the fund.

121. Time limits etc.

122. Appointment of solicitor to intervene.

PART XIII

Costs awarded against an Assisted Person

123. Security for costs given by assisted person.

124. Assisted person's liability for costs.

125. Affidavit of means by unassisted party.

126. Determination of liability for costs.

127. Postponement, adjournment or referral of determination.

128. Oral examination of parties.

129. Order for costs.

130. Variation of order for costs.

131. Assisted person acting in representative, fiduciary or official capacity.

132. Assisted person a minor.

133. Order against next friend or guardian ad litem.

PART XIV

Costs of unassisted parties out of the fund

134. Time and form of application.

135. Unassisted party acting in representative, fiduciary or official capacity.

136. Appearance by unassisted party and Area Director.

137. Applications in respect of magistrates' court proceedings.

138. Applications in respect of county court proceedings.

139. Procedure where application referred to registrar for determination.

140. Reference to registrar for inquiry and report.

141. Procedure on inquiry and report.

142. Procedure where application adjourned.

143. Applications in respect of proceedings in the Supreme Court and the House of Lords.

144. Procedure where application referred to master for determination.

145. Reference to master for inquiry and report.

146. Procedure on inquiry and report.

147. Procedure where application adjourned.

PART XV

Particular Courts and Tribunals

148. The Lands Tribunal.

149. The Employment Appeal Tribunal.

150. The Commons Commissioners.

151. The Restrictive Practices Court.

SCHEDULES

1. Regulations revoked.

2. Matters to be included in an affidavit of costs and resources.

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 2(7), 6(2), (3), 15(3), 16(6), 17, 31, 34 and 43 of and paragraph 11 of Schedule 1 to the Legal Aid Act 1988( a) and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, after consulting the General Council of the Bar, the Law Society, the Supreme Court Rule Committee, the County Court Rule Committee, the Matrimonial Causes Rule Committee and the Magistrates' Courts Rule Committee and with the consent of the Treasury, hereby makes the following Regulations:-

(a) 1988 c.34; section 43 is an interpretation provision and is cited because of the meanings assigned to the words "prescribed" and "regulations".

PART I

GENERAL

Citation, commencement, revocations and transitional provisions

1.-(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Civil Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1989 and shall come into force on 1st April 1989.

(2) The Regulations specified in Schedule 1 are hereby revoked.

(3) Where a review by an area committee under regulation 104, 105 or 106 relates to an assessment made before 1st June 1989, paragraphs (5) and (6) of regulation 105 shall not apply and the assisted person's solicitor or counsel may, within 21 days of the area committee's decision, appeal in writing to a committee appointed by the Board.

Scope

2. These Regulations apply for the purposes of the provision of civil legal aid under Part IV of the Legal Aid Act 1988.

Interpretation

3.-(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires,-

"the Act" means the Legal Aid Act 1988;

"affidavit of costs and resources" means an affidavit which includes the matters specified in Schedule 2 and which is sworn by a person in support of his application for an order under section 18 of the Act;

"appropriate area committee" means the area committee in whose area an application for a certificate has been granted or refused and includes an area committee to whose area an application has been transferred under these Regulations;

"area committee" means an area committee appointed by the Board...

To continue reading

Request your trial

VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT