Defence Forces (Evidence) Act 2022
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Amendment of Courts-Martial Appeals Act 1983 | ||
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94. The Courts-Martial Appeals Act 1983 is amended— | ||
(a) in section 25— | ||
(i) by the insertion of the following definition: | ||
“‘Act of 2022’ means the Defence Forces (Evidence) Act 2022;”, | ||
and | ||
(ii) by the substitution of the following definition for the definition of “legal aid certificate”: | ||
“‘legal aid certificate’ means a legal aid (preliminary proceedings) certificate, a legal aid (court-martial) certificate, a legal aid (case stated) certificate, a legal aid (application concerning forensic evidence retention period) certificate, a legal aid (court-martial appeal) certificate or a legal aid (Supreme Court) certificate;”, | ||
(b) in section 26(b), by the substitution of “any of the provisions of the Act of 1954 or the Act of 2022 or any instrument made under either of those Acts” for “any of the provisions of the Act of 1954 or any instrument made under that Act”, and | ||
(c) by the insertion of the following section after section 27A: | ||
“Legal aid (application concerning forensic evidence retention period) certificate | ||
27B. (1) Where— | ||
(a) a person appeals to the summary court-martial under section 37 (6), 48 (6) or 52 (11) of the Act of 2022 or makes an application to the summary court-martial under section 45 (1) or 60 (6) of the Act of 2022, and | ||
(b) a certificate for free legal aid (in this Part referred to as a ‘legal aid (application concerning forensic evidence retention period) certificate’) is granted in respect of the person concerned by the prescribed authority, | ||
the person shall be entitled to free legal aid in the preparation and conduct of his or her appeal or the application, as the case may be, 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 33 of this Act. | ||
(2) A legal aid (application concerning forensic evidence retention period) certificate shall be granted in respect of a person concerned if (but only if)— | ||
(a) application is made therefor, and | ||
(b) it appears to the prescribed authority that the means of the person concerned are insufficient to enable him or her to obtain legal aid.”. |