Citation and commencement

1.  These Regulations may be cited as the Legal Aid (Prescribed Panels) (Amendment) Regulations 1999 and shall come into force on 1st January 2000.

Interpretation

2.  In these Regulations, a regulation referred to by number alone means the regulation so numbered in the Legal Aid (Prescribed Panels) Regulations 1999(2).

Amendments to the Legal Aid (Prescribed Panels) Regulations 1999

3.  In regulation 2, after the definition of “Clinical Negligence Franchise Panel” the following shall be inserted:

• ““Family Franchise Panel” has the meaning given in regulation 5.

• “family proceedings” has the meaning given in regulation 6.

• “Immigration Franchise Panel” has the meaning given in regulation 7.

• “immigration proceedings” has the meaning given in regulation 8.”.

4.  After regulation 4 the following shall be inserted:

“Right to select legal representative in family proceedings

5.  There shall be a panel of authorised litigators, called the Family Franchise Panel, which shall comprise those authorised litigators who from time to time are authorised under a contract with the Board to provide representation and assistance by way of representation in claims to which regulation 6 applies.

6.—(1) This regulation applies to any family proceedings.

(2) “Family proceedings” means proceedings which arise out of family relationships.

(3) Proceedings which arise out of family relationships include:

(a)proceedings in which the welfare of children is determined; and

(b)all proceedings to which Parts III or IV of the Act apply under the following:

(i)the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973(3);

(ii)the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975(4);

(iii)the Adoption Act 1976(5);

(iv)the Domestic Proceedings and Magistrates' Courts Act 1978(6);

(v)the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984(7);

(vi)the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985(8);

(vii)the Family Law Act 1986(9);

(viii)the Children Act 1989(10);

(ix)section 30 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990(11);

(x)sections 20 and 27 of the Child Support Act 1991(12);

(xi)Part IV of the Family Law Act 1996(13);

(xii)the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to children; and

(xiii)in magistrates' courts, under section 43 of the National Assistance Act 1948(14), section 22 of the Maintenance Orders Act 1950(15), section 4 of the Maintenance Orders Act 1958(16), Part I of the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972(17) or section 106 of the Social Security Administration Act 1992(18).

(4) “Family proceedings” does not include proceedings for judicial review.

(5) The right conferred by section 32(1) of the Act, as regards representation and assistance by way of representation by an authorised litigator in respect of any proceedings to which this regulation applies, shall be exercisable only in relation to authorised litigators who are for the time being members of the Family Franchise Panel.

(6) Paragraph (5) shall not affect the Board’s powers under section 32(2) of the Act (assignment, or limitation on selection, of legal representative).

Right to select legal representative in immigration proceedings

7.  There shall be a panel of authorised litigators, called the Immigration Franchise Panel, which shall comprise those authorised litigators who from time to time are authorised under a contract with the Board to provide representation in claims to which regulation 8 applies.

8.—(1) This regulation applies to any immigration proceedings.

(2) “Immigration proceedings” means any proceedings relating to immigration, nationality or asylum in:

(a)the House of Lords;

(b)the Court of Appeal; or

(c)the High Court.

(3) The right conferred by section 32(1) of the Act, as regards representation by an authorised litigator in respect of any proceedings to which this regulation applies, shall be exercisable only in relation to authorised litigators who are for the time being members of the Immigration Franchise Panel.

(4) Paragraph (3) shall not affect the Board’s powers under section 32(2) of the Act (assignment, or limitation on selection, of legal representative).”.

Explanatory Note

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These Regulations amend the Legal Aid (Prescribed Panels) Regulations 1999 so as to designate the Family Franchise Panel and the Immigration Franchise Panel as prescribed panels for the purposes of section 32(7) of the Legal Aid Act 1988. They provide that an assisted person’s right to select an authorised litigator for the purposes of assistance by way of representation or representation in relation to family proceedings, and for the purposes of representation in relation to immigration proceedings, is limited to members of the respective panels.