Court of Appeal Act 2014
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Amendment of Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 | ||
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45. The Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Act 1962 is amended— | ||
(a) by the insertion of the following section after section 5: | ||
“Legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate | ||
“5A. (1) Where— | ||
(a) a person is charged with an offence, | ||
(b) an appeal is brought to the Court of Appeal from a determination of the High Court on a case stated by a judge in relation to the proceedings in the District Court in regard to the offence or in relation to a question of law arising in those proceedings, and | ||
(c) a certificate for free legal aid (in this Act referred to as a ‘legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate’) is granted in respect of the person charged with the offence to which the appeal relates by the High Court or under subsection (3) of this section, | ||
the person shall be entitled to free legal aid in the preparation and conduct of his or her case in relation to the appeal and to have a solicitor and counsel assigned to him or her for that purpose in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations under section 10 of this Act. | ||
(2) A legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate shall be granted if (but only if)— | ||
(a) application is made therefor, and | ||
(b) it appears to the High Court that— | ||
(i) the means of the person charged with the offence are insufficient to enable him or her to obtain legal aid, and | ||
(ii) by reason of the serious nature of the offence with which the person is charged or of exceptional circumstances, it is essential in the interests of justice that a legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate should be granted in respect of the person. | ||
(3) Where a person is refused a legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate, he or she may apply for the certificate to the Court of Appeal either— | ||
(a) by letter addressed to the Registrar of the Court of Appeal setting out the facts of the case and the grounds of the application, or | ||
(b) to the Court of Appeal itself, | ||
and the Court shall grant the certificate if (but only if) it appears to the Court that— | ||
(i) the means of the person are insufficient to enable him or her to obtain legal aid, and | ||
(ii) by reason of the serious nature of the offence with which the person is charged or of exceptional circumstances, it is essential in the interests of justice that a legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate should be granted in respect of the person.”, | ||
(b) in section 6— | ||
(i) by the substitution, in subsection (1), of the following paragraph for paragraph (b): | ||
“(b) an appeal is brought to the Supreme Court from— | ||
(i) a determination of the Court of Criminal Appeal, Court of Appeal or the Central Criminal Court in relation to the offence or the penalty (if any) imposed in respect thereof, | ||
(ii) a determination of the Court of Appeal on a case stated by the Circuit Court in relation to the proceedings in the Circuit Court in regard to the offence or in relation to a question of law arising in those proceedings, | ||
(iii) a determination of the High Court on a case stated by a judge in relation to the proceedings in the District Court in regard to the offence or in relation to a question of law arising in those proceedings, or | ||
(iv) a determination of the Court of Appeal on appeal from a determination of the High Court referred to in subparagraph (iii), and”, | ||
(ii) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (2): | ||
“(2) A legal aid (Supreme Court) certificate shall be granted if (but only if)— | ||
(a) application is made therefor, | ||
(b) it appears to the Court of Criminal Appeal, Court of Appeal or the High Court (as the case may be) that the means of the person charged with the offence are insufficient to enable him to obtain legal aid, | ||
(c) in the case of an appeal from— | ||
(i) a determination of the Court of Appeal on a case stated by the Circuit Court in relation to the proceedings in the Circuit Court in regard to the offence or in relation to a question of law arising in those proceedings, | ||
(ii) a determination of the High Court on a case stated by a judge in relation to the proceedings in the District Court in regard to the offence or in relation to a question of law arising in those proceedings, or | ||
(iii) a determination of the Court of Appeal on appeal from a determination of the High Court referred to in subparagraph (ii), | ||
it appears to the Court of Appeal or the High Court (as the case may be) that, by reason of the serious nature of the offence with which the person is charged or of exceptional circumstances, it is essential in the interests of justice that a legal aid (Supreme Court) certificate should be granted in respect of the person.”, | ||
(iii) by the substitution, in subsection (3), of the following subparagraph for subparagraph (ii): | ||
“(ii) in the case of an appeal from— | ||
(I) a determination of the Court of Appeal on a case stated by the Circuit Court in relation to the proceedings in the Circuit Court in regard to the offence or in relation to a question of law arising in those proceedings, | ||
(II) a determination of the High Court on a case stated by a judge in relation to the proceedings in the District Court in regard to the offence or in relation to a question of law arising in those proceedings, or | ||
(III) a determination of the Court of Appeal on appeal from a determination of the High Court referred to in clause (II), | ||
it appears to the Supreme Court that, by reason of the serious nature of the offence with which the person is charged or of exceptional circumstances, it is essential in the interests of justice that a legal aid (Supreme Court) certificate should be granted in respect of the person.”, | ||
and | ||
(iv) by the insertion of the following subsections after subsection (3): | ||
“(4) Where on or after the establishment day— | ||
(a) an appeal before the Supreme Court is subsequently determinable by the Court of Appeal pursuant to a direction given under Article 64.3.1° of the Constitution or an order made under Article 64.4.1° of the Constitution, or | ||
(b) an application to the Supreme Court seeking leave to appeal against a decision of the High Court is refused by the Supreme Court and an appeal against the decision of the High Court is subsequently brought to the Court of Appeal, | ||
and a legal aid (Supreme Court) certificate was granted in respect of the person the subject of the appeal referred to in paragraph (a) or the application referred to in paragraph (b), as the case may be, a legal aid (appeal) certificate or a legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have been granted in respect of the person in relation to the proceedings before the Court of Appeal. | ||
(5) In this section ‘the establishment day’ has the same meaning as it has in section 2 of the Court Of Appeal Act 2014.”, | ||
(c) in section 7, by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (4): | ||
“(5) Where a legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate has been granted in respect of a person, any fees, costs or other expenses properly incurred in preparing and conducting the person’s case in relation to the appeal to which the certificate relates shall, subject to the regulations under section 10 of this Act, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.”, | ||
and | ||
(d) in section 9(2), by the insertion of “a legal aid (case stated appeal) certificate,” after “a legal aid (case stated) certificate,”. |