Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1980
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1980/1894 |
1980 No. 1894
LEGAL AID AND ADVICE, ENGLAND
AND WALES
The Legal Aid (General) Regulations 19802ndDecember 1980
10thDecember 1980
1stJanuary 1981
ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS
PART I—GENERAL
1. Title and commencement.
2. Revocations.
3. Interpretation.
4. Powers exercisable by judges and judicial officers.
5. Powers exercisable by secretaries.
6. Forms.
7. Procedure of courts.
8. Service of notices.
9. Availability of documents to the court.
PART II—APPLICATIONS FOR CERTIFICATES
10. Committees to which application may be made.
11. Form and lodgment of application.
12. Undertaking to pay contribution for summary proceedings.
13. Contents of application and supporting documents, etc.
14. Applications by persons resident outside United Kingdom.
15. Application on behalf of minors and patients.
16. Power to transfer application to another committee.
17. Reference to the assessment officer for assessment of resources.
18. Cases where re-assessment not required.
PART III—EMERGENCY CERTIFICATES
19. Application for emergency certificate.
20. Issue and effect of emergency certificate.
21. Duration of emergency certificate.
22. Merger in substantive certificate.
23. Extension and expiry of emergency certificate.
24. Notification of extension of emergency certificate.
PART IV—DETERMINATION OF APPLICATIONS
25. Power to notify other parties of application.
26. Power of secretary to approve applications.
27. Other applications to be determined by committee.
28. Financial eligibility.
29. Eligibility on the merits.
30. Refusal where advantage trivial or proceedings simple.
31. Refusal where other rights or facilities available.
32. Assessment of payable contribution.
33. Proceedings in which others have an interest.
34. Application in representative, fiduciary or official capacity.
PART V—REFUSAL OF APPLICATIONS
35. Notification of refusal.
36. Right of appeal against refusal.
37. Time and form of appeal.
38. Nature of appeal.
39. Representation at appeal or other final application.
40. Determination of appeal.
41. Repeated refusal of certificates.
42. Power to make prohibitory direction.
PART VI—ISSUE AND EFFECT OF CERTIFICATES
43. Issue of certificate where no contribution payable.
44. Offer of certificate where contribution payable.
45. Undertaking to account for sums received from third party.
46. Acceptance and issue of certificate where contribution payable.
47. Scope of certificates.
48. Certificates to specify parties to proceedings.
49. Power to restrict costs allowable to distant solicitor.
50. Effect of certificates.
51. Notification of issue of certificates.
PART VII—AMENDMENT OF CERTIFICATE AND ADJUSTMENT OF CONTRIBUTION
52. Power to amend certificates.
53. Power to amend on change of circumstances or contribution.
54. Making and determination of applications for amendment.
55. Procedure on issue of amendment.
56. Right to show cause on application to remove limitation.
57. Procedure on refusal of amendment.
58. Decision of general committee on amendment final.
59. Increase of contribution under certificate.
PART VIII—AUTHORITY TO INCUR COSTS
60. Instructing counsel.
61. Power of Law Society to give general authority.
62. Other cases where authority may be sought.
63. Reasons to be given for refusing authority.
64. Effect of obtaining and failing to obtain authority.
65. Restriction on payment otherwise than from the fund.
PART IX—CONDUCT OF PROCEEDINGS
66. Restrictions on entrusting case to others.
67. Duty to report changes of circumstances.
68. Duty to report abuse of legal aid.
69. Power of court to refer abuse to general committee.
70. Duty to report on refusing or giving up case.
71. Duty to report progress of proceedings.
72. Duty to report death etc., of assisted person.
73. Duty to report completion of case.
74. Privilege, etc., not to prevent disclosure.
PART X—REVOCATION AND DISCHARGE OF CERTIFICATES
75. Effect of revocation and discharge.
76. Revocation or discharge of emergency certificate.
77. Discharge of certificate on financial grounds.
78. Discharge on the merits.
79. Power to revoke or discharge for abuse of legal aid.
80. Power to revoke or discharge for failure to provide information etc.
81. Further power to discharge.
82. Opportunity to show cause against revocation or discharge.
83. Notification of revocation or discharge.
84. Effect of revocation or discharge on retainer.
85. Costs to be taxed on revocation or discharge.
86. Operation of statutory charge.
87. Right to recover costs and contribution.
PART XI—PROPERTY AND COSTS RECOVERED FOR ASSISTED PERSONS
88. Moneys recovered to be paid to solicitor or The Law Society.
89. Notice to trustee in bankruptcy, etc.
90. Exceptions to regulation 88.
91. Solicitor to pay moneys recovered to The Law Society.
92. Enforcement of orders, etc., in favour of assisted person.
93. Retention and payment out of moneys by The Law Society.
94. Deferment of solicitor's profit costs.
95. Operation of the statutory charge on moneys in court.
96. Exemptions from the statutory charge.
97. Vesting and enforcement of the statutory charge.
PART XII—COSTS OF ASSISTED PERSONS
98. Legal aid granted after costs incurred.
99. Remuneration of counsel and solicitors in the Crown Court and magistrates' courts.
100. Assessment of costs by Area Committee.
101. Taxation of costs.
102. Agreement in respect of costs.
103. Failure to apply for taxation.
104. Disallowance or reduction of costs.
105. Solicitor's duty to safeguard the interests of the fund.
106. Costs of applications, reports etc., under these Regulations.
107. Application to carry in objections to the taxation.
108. Application to judge to review taxation.
109. Appeal from review of taxation.
110. Counsel dissatisfied with taxation.
111. Objection by other party.
112. Costs to be paid out of the fund.
113. Assisted person having no interest or adverse interest.
114. Time limits.
115. Appointment of solicitor to intervene.
PART XIII—COSTS AWARDED AGAINST AN ASSISTED PERSON
116. Security for costs given by assisted person.
117. Assisted person's liability for costs.
118. Affidavit of means by unassisted party.
119. Determination of liability for costs.
120. Postponement, adjournment or referral of determination.
121. Oral examination of parties.
122. Order for costs.
123. Variation of order for costs.
124. Assisted person acting in representative, fiduciary or official capacity.
125. Assisted person a minor.
126. Order against next friend or guardian ad litem.
PART XIV—COSTS OF UNASSISTED PARTIES OUT OF THE FUND
127. Time and form of application.
128. Unassisted party acting in representative, fiduciary or official capacity.
129. Appearance by unassisted party and secretary.
130. Applications in respect of magistrates' court proceedings.
131. Applications in respect of county court proceedings.
132. Procedure where application referred to registrar for determination.
133. Reference to registrar for inquiry and report.
134. Procedure on inquiry and report.
135. Procedure where application adjourned otherwise.
136. Applications in respect of proceedings in the Supreme Court and House of Lords.
137. Procedure where application referred to master for determination.
138. Reference to master for inquiry and report.
139. Procedure on inquiry and report.
140. Procedure where application adjourned otherwise.
PART XV—PARTICULAR COURTS AND TRIBUNALS
141. The Lands Tribunal.
142. The Employment Appeal Tribunal.
143. The Commons Commissioners.
144. The Restrictive Practices Court.
Schedule 1 Regulations revoked (regulation 2)
Schedule 2 Forms (regulation 6)
Schedule 3 Remuneration of counsel and solicitors
giving legal aid in proceedings in the
Crown Court and magistrates' courts
(regulation 99)
Schedule 4 Matters to be included in an affidavit
of costs and resources (regulation 3)
The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by sections 7(6), 8(3), 9(6), 11, 14 and 20 of the Legal Aid Act 1974(a) and all other powers enabling him in that behalf, and with the concurrence of the Treasury, hereby makes the following Regulations:—
PART I
GENERAL
Title and commencement
1. These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1980 and shall come into operation on 1st January 1981.
Revocations
2. The Regulations specified in Schedule 1 are hereby revoked.
Interpretation
3. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires:—
"the Act" means the Legal Aid Act 1974;
"affidavit of costs and resources" means an affidavit which includes the matters specified in Schedule 4 and which is sworn by a person in support of his application for an order under section 13 of the Act;
"appropriate area committee" means the area committee in whose area an application for a certificate has been granted or refused;
"area committee" means an area committee appointed by the Council of The Law Society under the provisions of a scheme;
"assessment officer" means a person authorised by the Secretary of State to determine the disposable income and disposable capital of the person concerned and to determine the maximum amount of his contribution to the legal aid fund in respect of any proceedings;
"assisted person" means a person in respect of whom a certificate is in force and for the purposes of Part XI only includes a person in respect of whom a certificate has been, but is no longer, in force;
"authorised summary proceedings" means proceedings in a magistrates' court for which legal aid may be given, as mentioned in Part I of Schedule 1 to the Act;
"certificate" means a legal aid certificate issued in accordance with these Regulations or any regulations revoked by these Regulations and includes an amendment to a certificate issued under Part VII and unless the context otherwise requires an emergency certificate;
"court" in relation to proceedings tried or heard at first instance by a Master of the Supreme Court, a Registrar of the Family Division of the High Court or the Registrar...
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