S.I. No. 304/1978 - Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1978.

S.I. No. 304 of 1978.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE (LEGAL AID) (AMENDMENT) (NO. 2) REGULATIONS, 1978.

I, GERARD COLLINS, Minister for Justice, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 10 of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act, 1962 (No. 12 of 1962), hereby make the following regulations:

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations, 1978.

(2) The collective citation "the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 to 1978" shall include these Regulations.

(3) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 1st day of January, 1979.

2. In these Regulations "the Regulations of 1965" means the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Regulations, 1965 ( S.I. No. 12 of 1965 ).

3. Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 1965 is hereby amended by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (1):

"(1) ( a ) As soon as may be each county registrar shall compile a list of the solicitors practicing in the county, or the county and county borough, as the case may be, of which he is county registrar who have notified him of their willingness to act for persons to whom certificates for free legal aid are granted in and in relation to courts, or specified courts, sitting at specified places and shall send a copy of the list to—

(i) the registrar of the Supreme Court,

(ii) the registrar of the Court of Criminal Appeal,

(iii) the registrar of the High Court managing the Central Office of the High Court,

(iv) the registrar of the Central Criminal Court,

(v) the registrar of any Special Criminal Court in existence for the time being under the Offences Against the State Act, 1939 (No. 13 of 1939),

(vi) the District Court clerk for each district court area (or part of an area) for cases of summary jurisdiction in the county, or county and county borough, as the case may be aforesaid,

(vii) the Secretary of the Incorporated Law Society,

and

(viii) the Secretary of the Department of Justice.

( b ) A list compiled pursuant to subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall include, in respect of each solicitor on the list, particulars of the courts in and in relation to which he is willing to act as aforesaid, and where a county registrar for the county, or the county and county borough, as the case may be, to which a list relates is notified by a solicitor of his wish to have the particulars specified in respect of him in the list varied in the manner specified in the notification, the county registrar shall vary those particulars in accordance with the notification and shall notify the persons specified in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph of the variation.

( c ) A solicitor who wishes to have the particulars specified in respect of him in a list compiled pursuant to this paragraph varied, shall notify in writing the appropriate county registrar and, upon making the variation referred to in subparagraph (b) of this paragraph, in the list kept by him, the county registrar shall notify the solicitor of the variation.".

4. Where, in relation to a sitting of a court at any place, no solicitor's name is on the appropriate list kept pursuant to Regulation 4 of the Regulations of 1965 and a certificate for free legal aid falls to be granted to a person, the court may, having taken into consideration the representations (if any) of the person, request any solicitor to act for the person in the preparation and conduct of his case and, if that solicitor is willing so to act, the court may, upon the grant of the certificate, assign that solicitor to the person to act for him in the preparation and conduct of his case.

5. The references in Regulations 5 (2) and 6 (1) of the Regulations of 1965 to the registrar of the Central Criminal Court shall be deemed to include references to the registrar of any Special Criminal Court in existence for the time being under the Offences Against the State Act, 1939 .

GIVEN under my Official Seal, this 7th day of November, 1978.

GERARD COLLINS,

Minister for Justice.

EXPLANATORY NOTE.

These regulations which come into effect on 1 January, 1979, provide that solicitors who have agreed to participate in the Criminal Legal Aid Scheme shall be free to specify the court or court venues in which they are willing to take legal aid cases and that, where, in relation to a court venue, there is no solicitor on the legal aid panel, the Court may request any solicitor who is not on the panel to accept a legal aid assignment.