2005 No. 474

LEGAL AID AND ADVICE

Legal Aid (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005

Made

To be laid before Parliament

Coming into operation

The Lord Chancellor, in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 22 and 27 of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 19811, and now vested in him2, hereby makes the following Regulations:

Citation and commencement1

These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (General) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005 and shall come into operation on 5th December 2005.

Interpretation2

In these Regulations “the principal regulations” means the Legal Aid (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 19653.

Amendment to the principal regulations

3

In regulation 1(2) of the principal regulations after the definition of “certifying committee” there shall be inserted—

  • “civil partner” has the meaning assigned to it by section 1 of the Civil Partnership Act 20044;

4

In paragraph 6(b) of the Schedule to the principal regulations after the words “any spouse” there shall be inserted the words “or civil partner”.

5

In paragraph 6(b)(i) of the Schedule to the principal regulations after the words “the spouse” there shall be inserted the words “or civil partner”.

6

In paragraph 6(b)(ii) of the Schedule to the principal regulations after the words “his spouse” there shall be inserted the words “or civil partner”.

7

In paragraph 7(b) of the Schedule to the principal regulations after the words “a spouse” there shall be inserted the words “or civil partner”.

8

In paragraph 8(b)(i) of the Schedule to the principal regulations after each instance of the word “spouse” there shall be inserted the words “or civil partner”.

9

In paragraph 8(b)(ii) of the Schedule to the principal regulations after each instance of the word “spouse” there shall be inserted the words “or civil partner”.

10

In paragraph 8(b)(iii) of the Schedule to the principal regulations after each instance of the word “spouse” there shall be inserted the words “or civil partner”.

Signed by authority of the Lord Chancellor

Bridget PrenticeParliamentary Under-Secretary of State,Department for Constitutional Affairs

(This note is not part of the Regulations.)

These Regulations amend the Legal Aid (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1965 to insert references to the legal status of civil partners, as created by the provisions of the Civil Partnership Act 2004, to ensure an application for legal aid from any person who is in a civil partnership is determined in a manner consistent with the existing Regulations.