LEGAL AID

CHAPTER 4:01
LEGAL AID

ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS

    SECTION

PART I
PRELIMINARY

    1.    Short title

    2.    Interpretation

PART II
LEGAL AID BUREAU

    3.    Establishment of the Legal Aid Bureau

    4.    Duties and functions of the Bureau

    5.    Powers of the Bureau

    6.    Independence of the Bureau

PART III
STAFF OF THE BUREAU

    7.    Director and Deputy Director

    8.    Qualifications of Director and Deputy Director

    9.    Appointment of the Director and Deputy Director

    10.    Term of office of Director and Deputy Director

    11.    Removal from office

    12.    Other employees of the Bureau

    13.    Delegation of powers

    14.    Criteria for recruiting Legal Aid Assistants

    15.    Terms and conditions of service

PART IV
PROVISION OF LEGAL AID

    16.    Extent of legal aid

    17.    Legal aid in criminal matters

    18.    Eligibility for legal aid in criminal matters

    19.    Legal aid in civil matters

    20.    Eligibility for legal aid in civil matters

    21.    Assessment of means of an applicant

    22.    Contributions towards legal aid

    23.    Legal aid by courts

    24.    Appeals against decision of Director

    25.    Termination and revocation of legal aid

    26.    Variation of grant of legal aid

    27.    Effect of revocation and termination of legal aid

    28.    Cooperation agreements

PART V
INSTRUCTION OF PRIVATE LEGAL PRACTITIONERS

    29.    Instruction of private legal practitioners

    30.    Panels of legal practitioners

    31.    Conditions applying to members of a panel

    32.    Breach of service provision contracts

    33.    Audits

    34.    Confidentiality with regard to audit

PART VI
REGIONAL AND DISTRICT LEGAL AID CENTRES

    35.    Regional Legal Aid Centres

    36.    District Legal Aid Centres

    37.    Competence of Legal Aid Advocates and Legal Aid Assistants

PART VII
FINANCIAL PROVISIONS

    38.    Funding of the Bureau

    39.    Legal Aid Fund

    40.    Deductions from awards

    41.    Costs awarded to legally aided persons

    42.    Costs not to be awarded against legally aided persons

    43.    Payments into the funds

    44.    Accounting and audit

PART VIII
GENERAL

    45.    Parties to submit mediation in certain cases

    46.    Bureau to enter into contingency fee agreements

    47.    Legal aid in matters before a tribunal

    48.    Regulations

    49.    Repeals and savings

    50.    Transitional

        First Schedule

        Second Schedule

7 of 2011
G.N. 5/2013

    An Act to make provision for the granting of legal aid in civil and criminal matters to persons whose means are insufficient to enable them to engage private legal practitioners and to other categories of persons where the interests of justice so require; to provide for the establishment of a Legal Aid Bureau; to provide for the establishment of a Legal Aid Fund; to allow for limited eligibility of other persons, besides legal practitioners, to provide legal aid for the purposes of this Act and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto

PART I
PRELIMINARY

1.    Short title

    This Act may be cited as the Legal Aid Act.

2.    Interpretation

    In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

    “Bureau” means the Legal Aid Bureau established under Part III of this Act;

    “civic education” means civic education in legal literacy or the general dissemination of information about the law to the general public and conducted as part of legal aid service under this Act;

    “contribution” means a contribution to the costs of the proceedings or matter in respect of which legal aid is or is to be given;

    “cooperation agreement” means a contract or agreement entered into between the Legal Aid Bureau and a civil society organization or a person or body, engaged or interested in the provision of legal aid, for the rendering of legal aid services wholly by such organization, person or body or jointly with the Bureau;

    “contingency fee agreement” means an agreement between the Bureau and a legally aided person by which the Bureau agrees to represent such person on condition that compensation to the Bureau shall be a percentage of the amount recovered in favour of such person.

    “criminal investigations” means investigations relating to an offence or to a person accused or convicted of an offence;

    “criminal proceedings” means proceedings before a court, tribunal, or other body against a person for—

    (a)    an offence;

    (b)    contempt of, or before, such court, tribunal or other body;

    “Director” and ‘’Deputy Director” means Director and Deputy Director of the Bureau appointed under section 9, respectively;

    “legal advice” means oral or written advice on the application of written law or common law to any particular circumstances that have arisen in relation to the person seeking advice and as to the steps which that person might appropriately take…