2013 No. 104
The Civil Legal Aid (Merits Criteria) Regulations 2013
Made
Coming into force
The Lord Chancellor makes the following Regulations M1 in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 5(4), 11(1)(b) and (6) and 41(1)(a) and (b), (2)(a) and (b) and (3)(a) of, and paragraph 3(2) of Schedule 3 to, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 M2(“the Act”).
In making these Regulations, in accordance with section 11(2) to (5) of the Act, the Lord Chancellor—
- a
has considered the circumstances in which it is appropriate to make civil legal services available under Part 1 of the Act and, in particular, the extent to which the criteria ought to reflect the factors in section 11(3);
- b
has sought to secure that, in cases in which more than one form of civil legal service could be provided for an individual, the individual qualifies under Part 1 of the Act for the form of service which in all the circumstances is most appropriate having regard to the criteria; and
- c
is satisfied that the criteria reflect the principle that, in many disputes, mediation and other forms of dispute resolution are more appropriate than legal proceedings.
In accordance with section 41(6) of the Act, a draft of this instrument was laid before Parliament and approved by resolution of each House of Parliament.
Section 42(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c.10) provides that in Part 1 of that Act “regulations” means Regulations made by the Lord Chancellor.