The Church of England (Legal Aid) Rules 1995

Power to discharge or revoke certificates

15.—(1) The Commission may terminate a certificate by discharging or revoking it in accordance with this rule.

(2) Subject to rule 16—

(a) where a certificate which has been issued in respect of any person is discharged, that certificate shall cease to be in force on the date from which the discharge takes effect; and

(b) where a certificate which has been issued in respect of any person is revoked, that certificate shall be deemed never to have been in force.

(3) The Commission may discharge a certificate in the following circumstances—

(a) where the assisted person has requested or consented to the discharge;

(b) where the Commission is satisfied, by the report of the assisted person’s solicitor or otherwise, that—

(i) the assisted person has died or has had a bankruptcy order made against him; or

(ii) the proceedings or the part of the proceedings to which the certificate relates have or has been disposed of or completed;

(c) where as a result of information which has come to the Commission it is satisfied that—

(i) the assisted person no longer has reasonable grounds for taking, defending or being a party to the proceedings or for continuing to do so;

(ii) the assisted person has required the proceedings to be conducted unreasonably so as to incur an unjustifiable expense to the Fund or has required unreasonably that the proceedings be continued;

(iii) the financial circumstances of the assisted person are such that he could afford to proceed without legal aid; or

(iv) it is unreasonable in the particular circumstances that the assisted person should continue to receive legal aid.

(4) Where a result of information which has come to the Commission—

(a) the Commission is satisfied that an assisted person has wilfully failed to comply with these Rules; or

(b) it is satisfied that an assisted person has knowingly made a false statement or false representation in connection with an application for legal aid or for an amendment of a certificate; or

(c) it is satisfied that an assisted person has failed to disclose a material fact in connection with an application for legal aid or an application for an amendment of a certificate, and he cannot show that he used due care and diligence to avoid that failure,

the Commission may discharge the certificate issued in respect of the assisted person or, if the act or omission or the first of the acts or omissions by the assisted person specified in sub-paragraph (a), (b) or (c) occurred before the date on which the certificate was issued, may revoke the certificate.

(5) Before discharging a certificate in the circumstances specified in paragraph (3)(c) or discharging or revoking a certificate in the circumstances specified in paragraph (4), the Commission shall—

(a) notify the assisted person that it is considering the discharge or revocation of the certificate; and

(b) afford him an opportunity of making representations, whether in writing or orally and whether in person or by his solicitor or counsel, with respect to the proposed discharge or revocation.

(6) The discharge of a certificate under the foregoing provisions of this rule shall take effect from such date as the Commission may consider appropriate.

(7) Where a certificate is discharged or revoked—

(a) the secretary shall send notice of the discharge or revocation (specifying in the case of a discharge the date from which it takes effect), together with a copy of the notice, to the solicitor of the person in relation to whom the certificate was issued and shall (except where the certificate has been discharged because of the death of that person) send a further copy of the notice to that person; but

(b) neither that person nor his solicitor shall be entitled to any information as to the grounds for the discharge or revocation.