# The Criminal Legal Aid (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2010, Note: Explanatory note


(This note is not part of the Regulations)
These Regulations amend the Criminal Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 1996 (“the principal Regulations”) to allow legal aid applications to be made online and in consequence of the transfer, from the courts to the Scottish Legal Aid Board (“the Board”), of the function of granting criminal legal aid in relation to solemn proceedings and the conferral on the Board of powers to make criminal legal aid available subject to conditions. The power to grant criminal legal aid in relation to solemn proceedings is transferred by virtue of section 64 of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 (“the 2007 Act”) and the powers to make criminal legal aid available subject to conditions is conferred on the Board by virtue of sections 64 and 65 of the 2007 Act. Those sections come into force on 25th November 2010 by virtue of the Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 (Commencement No. 6) Order 2010 (S.S.I. 2010/376).
Regulation 3(3) inserts a new regulation 7A into the principal Regulations which makes provision as to the manner of, and time limits for, making applications to the Board under sections 23A, 24, 25 and 25AB of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 (“the 1986 Act”). Paragraphs (2), (4), (8) and (9) of regulation 3 revoke the provisions of the principal Regulations which made provision as to those matters in connection with applications to the Board under sections 24 and 25 of the 1986 Act.
Paragraphs (5), (6), (7), (10) and (11)(b) of regulation 3 amend regulations 9, 10, 11, 15 and 18(1)(d) of the principal Regulations respectively to apply to criminal legal aid made available under sections 23A, 24, 25 and 25AB of the 1986 Act. Previously, those regulations applied only in relation to criminal legal aid under sections 24 and 25 (or in the case of regulation 18(1)(d) only in relation to criminal legal aid under section 24) of the 1986 Act. Regulation 9 of the principal Regulations is further amended to make clear that where an applicant for criminal legal aid wilfully fails to comply with a requirement under paragraph (1) of that regulation, the Board may treat the application for criminal legal aid as abandoned.
Paragraphs (a) and (c) of regulation 3(11) amend regulation 18 of the principal Regulations to add to the list of grounds on which the Board can cease to make criminal legal aid available and recover sums paid out of the Scottish Legal Aid Fund, any failure to comply with a condition imposed by the Board under section 23A(2), 24(1A), 25(2C) or 25AB(2A) of the 1986 Act.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2010/377/note (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/criminal-legal-aid-scotland-amendment-regulations-2010/note
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.