Planning and Development Act 2024

• Permanent Page URL

Application in respect of certain payments relevant to Aarhus Convention proceedings

297. (1) An applicant or intending applicant in Aarhus Convention proceedings may submit a statement of financial resources to the relevant person at any time before the initiation of the proceedings or during the proceedings.

(2) An applicant or intending applicant in Aarhus Convention proceedings may submit a statement of eligibility to the relevant person at any time before the initiation of the proceedings or during the proceedings.

(3) The relevant person shall, by reference to the statement of financial resources submitted under subsection (1) and in accordance with regulations under section 299 , calculate the financial resources of the applicant or intending applicant and, as a result of such calculation, determine if the financial resources of the applicant or intending applicant are, having regard to amounts and calculations prescribed—

(a) sufficient to result in the applicant or intending applicant being disentitled to receive a contribution to costs paid from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism,

(b) sufficient to result in the applicant or intending applicant being entitled to receive a contribution to costs paid from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism only in respect of part of the costs incurred by the applicant or intending applicant, or

(c) of a level that the applicant or intending applicant is entitled to receive a contribution to costs paid from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism in respect of the entirety of the costs incurred by the applicant or intending applicant.

(4) The relevant person shall, by reference to the statement of eligibility submitted under subsection (2), and in accordance with regulations under section 299 , assess the eligibility of the applicant or intending applicant and as a result of that assessment determine whether the applicant or intending applicant is, having regard to the criteria of eligibility prescribed—

(a) disentitled to receive a contribution to costs paid from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism,

(b) entitled to receive a contribution to costs paid from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism in respect of part of the costs incurred by the applicant or intending applicant, or

(c) entitled to receive a contribution to costs paid from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism in respect of the entirety of the costs incurred by the applicant or intending applicant.

(5) The relevant person—

(a) shall, having made a determination under subsection (3) or (4), notify the applicant or intending applicant of the determination within 28 days of the submission of the statement of financial resources or statement of eligibility (as the case may be), or within such other period as the Minister may prescribe,

(b) shall not make or authorise a payment from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism to an applicant in the proceedings where a determination under paragraph (a) of subsection (3) or paragraph (a) of subsection (4) is made in respect of that applicant (or in respect of that applicant as an intending applicant in the proceedings, as the case may be), and

(c) shall not make or authorise a payment from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism to an applicant in the proceedings where a determination under paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (3) or paragraph (b) or (c) of subsection (4) is made in respect of that applicant (or in respect of that applicant as an intending applicant in the proceedings, as the case may be), other than in accordance with the determination and with the monetary amounts prescribed under section 294 .

(6) The relevant person may require that the statement of financial resources or statement of eligibility submitted under this section be certified or attested as to its authenticity or correctness in such manner as the relevant person may reasonably require, including by a statutory declaration.

(7) Where Aarhus Convention proceedings are initiated, and a statement of financial resources is submitted under subsection (1) or a statement of eligibility is submitted under subsection (2), any party to the proceedings may apply for a stay on the proceedings until the determination under subsection (3) or (4) is made.

(8) A person who furnishes false or misleading information in a statement of financial resources or statement of eligibility under this section—

(a) shall not be entitled to a payment from the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism in respect of the proceedings to which the false or misleading information relates, and

(b) is guilty of an offence.

(9) This section is without prejudice to section 151 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 , or any other rule of law or practice providing for the right of an applicant or intending applicant to enter into an agreement with a legal practitioner concerning the amount, manner or circumstances of payment of all or part of the legal costs that are or may be payable by the applicant or intending applicant to the legal practitioner for legal services provided in relation to a matter.

(10) In this section “relevant person” means—

(a) the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, or

(b) the person authorised by regulations under section 299 to administer the environmental legal costs financial assistance mechanism for the time being on behalf of that Minister.