Criminal Justice Act 1967

73 Power to order legal aid to be given.

(1) The following provisions of this section shall have effect with respect to the giving of legal aid in connection with criminal proceedings, but any power conferred by those provisions to give such aid shall be exercisable only in the circumstances mentioned in section 75(1), and subject to the provisions of section 75(2) to (4), of this Act.

(2) Where a person is charged with an offence before a magistrates' court or appears or is brought before a magistrates' court to be dealt with, the court may order that he shall be given legal aid for the purpose of the proceedings before the court.

(3) Where a person convicted or sentenced by a magistrates' court desires to appeal to a court of quarter sessions, either of those courts may order that he shall be given legal aid for the purpose of the appeal and where any such person gives notice of appeal, either of those courts may order that the other party to the appeal shall be given legal aid for the purpose of resisting the appeal.

(4) Where a person is committed to or appears before a court of assize or quarter sessions for trial or sentence, or appears or is brought before a court of assize or quarter sessions to be dealt with, the court which commits him or to which he is committed, or before which he appears or is brought, may order that he shall be given legal aid for the purpose of the trial or other proceedings before the court of assize or quarter sessions.

(5) Where a person is convicted or sentenced by a court of assize or quarter sessions and desires to appeal to the Court of Appeal against his conviction or sentence, the criminal division of the Court of Appeal may order that he shall be given legal aid for the purpose of the appeal and any proceedings preliminary or incidental thereto.

(6) Where a person is convicted by a court-martial and desires to appeal to the Courts-Martial Appeal Court, the latter court may order that he shall be given legal aid for the purpose of the appeal and any proceedings preliminary or incidental thereto.

(7) Where either party to an appeal to the criminal division of the Court of Appeal or the Courts-Martial Appeal Court desires to appeal to the House of Lords from a decision of one of those Courts, the court which gave the decision may order that the person to whose conviction or sentence the appeal relates shall be given legal aid for the purpose of the appeal and any proceedings preliminary or incidental thereto.

(8) Where the criminal division of the Court of Appeal or the House of Lords orders a person to be retried by a court of assize or quarter sessions under section 1 of the [1964 c. 43.] Criminal Appeal Act 1964 (new trials in cases of fresh evidence), the former court or the House of Lords, as the case may be, or the latter court may order that he shall be given legal aid for the purpose of the retrial.

(9) In the following provisions of this Part of this Act " legal aid order " means an order made under any provision of this section and " legally assisted person " means a person to whom legal aid is ordered to be given by such an order.