The Civil Legal Services (Financial) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019

Made: 11th February 2019

Coming into operation: 4th March 2019

The Department of Justice makes the following Regulations in exercise of the powers conferred by Article 13 of the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003[^f00001] and now vested in it[^f00002].

Citation and commencement

1

These Regulations may be cited as the Civil Legal Services (Financial) (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2019 and shall come into operation on 4th March 2019.

Amendments to the Civil Legal Services (Financial) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015

2

The Civil Legal Services (Financial) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015[^f00003] are amended as follows.

3

In regulation 2, for sub-paragraph (b) of the definition of “assessing authority”, substitute—

• “in respect of representation (higher courts), the Director;”.

4

In regulation 20(4), omit “, with the consent of the Director,”.

5

In regulation 21—

• (a) in sub-paragraph (2), omit “if so required by the Director and”;

• (b) in sub-paragraph (3), omit “if so required by the Director and”; and

• (c) in sub-paragraph (8), for “request” substitute “make”.

Signed

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Justice on 11th February 2019

Peter May — A senior officer of the Department of Justice

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations amend the Civil Legal Services (Financial) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015. The purpose of these amending Regulations is to allow for financial eligibility assessments in respect of certain applications for civil legal aid to be carried out by the Director of Legal Aid Casework in place of a person appointed by the Department for Communities.

The Regulations come into operation on 4th March 2019.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: S.I. 2003/435 (N.I. 10). Article 13 of the 2003 Order was amended by section 6 of, and paragraph 6(14) of Schedule 2 to, the Legal Aid and Coroners’ Court Act (Northern Ireland) 2014.

[^f00002]: S.I. 2010/976.

[^f00003]: S.R. 2015/196.