The Criminal Legal Aid (Scotland) Regulations 1996

Interpretation

2.—(1) In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires–

“the Act” means the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986;

“the 1995 Act” means the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995(1);

“assisted person” means a person to whom criminal legal aid has been made available in relation to the proceedings in question;

“counsel” includes a solicitor-advocate;

“junior counsel” includes a junior solicitor-advocate;

“legal representative” means a person having parental responsibilities within the meaning of section 1(3) of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995(2) in relation to a child or a curator bonis, tutor, judicial factor or guardian;

“right of audience” means, in relation to a solicitor, a right of audience in the High Court of Justiciary which a solicitor has by virtue of section 25A (rights of audience in specified courts) of the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980(3);

“senior counsel” includes a senior solicitor-advocate, except in paragraph (2) below;

“solicitor-advocate” means a solicitor, whether instructed by another solicitor or not, when and only when he is exercising his right of audience or acting in connection with the exercise of such a right and “junior solicitor-advocate” and “senior solicitor-advocate” shall be construed in accordance with paragraph (2) below;

and, unless the context otherwise requires, any reference in these Regulations to a solicitor shall not include a solicitor when acting as a solicitor-advocate.

(2) For the purposes of these Regulations, a solicitor-advocate shall be–

(a) a senior solicitor-advocate, where he is undertaking work equivalent to that which would be done by a senior counsel in a case where the proceedings relate to a prosecution or conviction for murder or where the Board has authorised the employment of senior counsel under regulation 14(1)(a) or (2) below; and

(b) a junior solicitor-advocate, where he is undertaking work equivalent to that which would be done by a junior counsel, whether or not the Board has authorised the employment of senior counsel in the case.

(1)

1995 c. 46.

(2)

1995 c. 36.

(3)

1980 c. 46, section 25A was inserted by the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990, section 24, and was amended by the Criminal Procedure (Consequential Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1995 (c. 40), Schedule 4, paragraph 31.