The Legal Aid (Employment of Solicitors) (Scotland) Regulations 2001

Scottish Statutory Instruments

2001 No. 392

LEGAL AID AND ADVICE

The Legal Aid (Employment of Solicitors) (Scotland) Regulations 2001

Made

23rd October 2001

Laid before the Scottish Parliament

24th October 2001

Coming into force

19th November 2001

The Scottish Ministers, in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 26(1), 27(1) and 37(1) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986(1) and of all other powers enabling them in that behalf, hereby make the following Regulations:

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (Employment of Solicitors) (Scotland) Regulations 2001 and shall come into force on 19th November 2001.

(2) In these Regulations, “the Act” means the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986.

Arrangements for employment of solicitors

2.  The Board may employ solicitors in accordance with sections 26 to 28 of the Act on such terms and conditions as it may consider appropriate in accordance with the following regulations.

3.—(1) The Board may employ a solicitor for the purposes of providing any such services as are mentioned in section 26(2) of the Act, but shall not do so unless–

(a) it has received a written request from a local organisation for the services of a solicitor employed by the Board; and

(b) it is satisfied having regard to the arrangements proposed by the organisation that the services of such a solicitor for any of those purposes would enhance the services offered by the organisation to applicants.

(2) A solicitor who is employed by the Board in terms of paragraph (1) may also do anything specified in paragraphs (a) and (b) of section 26(1) of the Act.

4.  The Board may employ a solicitor to provide criminal legal assistance in cases where an accused person–

(a) is eligible to receive such assistance; and

(b) would otherwise be unable to secure the services of a solicitor to provide such assistance.

JAMES WALLACE

A member of the Scottish Executive

St Andrew’s House,

Edinburgh

23rd October 2001

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations make provision as to the employment by the Scottish Legal Aid Board (“the Board”) of solicitors in accordance with sections 26 to 28 of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 (“the Act”) and as to the circumstances in which solicitors may be so employed.

The Regulations provide that a solicitor may be employed to provide services to local organisations in certain circumstances. A solicitor so employed may also provide advice and assistance and legal aid (regulation 3).

Regulation 4 provides that the Board may employ a solicitor to provide criminal legal assistance where the accused person is eligible to receive, and would be otherwise unable to secure the services of a solicitor to provide, such assistance.

(1)

1986 c. 47; section 26 was amended by the Convention Rights (Compliance) (Scotland) Act 2001 (asp 7), section 9(6). The functions of the Secretary of State were transferred to the Scottish Ministers by virtue of section 53 of the Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46).