Mental Health Act 20266
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Criteria for granting legal aid for appeal | ||
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204. (1) Where an affected person seeks to appeal a decision of a review board to the Circuit Court under section 32 and he or she has not engaged, or does not propose to engage, a legal representative at his or her own expense in respect of the appeal, he or she may make an application to the Commission for legal aid in respect of that appeal. | ||
(2) Where an affected person seeks to appeal a decision of the Circuit Court on a point of law to the High Court under section 32 (16) and he or she has not engaged, or does not propose to engage, a legal representative at his or her own expense in respect of the appeal, he or she may make an application to the Commission for legal aid in respect of that appeal. | ||
(3) Where the Commission receives an application from an affected person under subsection (1) or (2), the Commission shall assign a legal representative from a panel to the person concerned, for the purposes of providing legal representation in relation to a relevant matter specified in section 202 (c), other than in the following circumstances where the Commission may refuse to grant legal aid: | ||
(a) the affected person has previously appealed the relevant decision of the review board or the Circuit Court, as the case may be, the subject of the proposed appeal, to the Circuit Court or High Court, as the case may be; | ||
(b) the affected person has not made his or her application to the Commission within a period of 21 days of the receipt by him or her, or his or her legal representative (whether or not that legal representative was previously assigned by the Commission on behalf of the person in respect of a relevant matter specified in paragraph (a) or (b) of section 202 or retained by the affected person at his or her own expense), of the written notice under section 31 of the relevant decision of the review board. | ||
(4) Where the Commission assigns a legal representative from a panel to an affected person under subsection (3), the Commission shall assign the legal representative who was previously assigned by the Commission on behalf of the person in respect of a relevant matter specified in paragraph (a) of section 202 unless— | ||
(a) the legal representative previously assigned is unavailable, or | ||
(b) the person wishes to be provided with the services of a legal representative on the panel other than the legal representative previously assigned. | ||
(5) Where the Commission refuses legal aid to an affected person under subsection (3), the Commission shall inform the affected person in writing— | ||
(a) of the refusal and the reasons for it, and | ||
(b) that the affected person may appeal against the decision of the Commission in accordance with subsection (6). | ||
(6) An affected person who is refused legal aid under subsection (3) may appeal such refusal within 28 days, or such longer period of time as may be prescribed, to the Chief Executive Officer in the prescribed form and manner. |