Legal aid and advice and assistance
3(1)Nothing in this Act shall affect any legal aid under the 1967 Act or advice and assistance under the 1972 Act in respect of which an application has been determined before the appointed day ; and, notwithstanding the repeal by this Act of these Acts, they and any schemes, regulations, orders or rules of court made under them shall continue to have effect for the purposes of such legal aid or advice and assistance.
(2)For the purposes of -sub-paragraph (1) above, where the 1967 Act or the 1972 Act or any such scheme, regulation, order or rule of court—
(a)requires or enables anything to be done by the Law Society or any of its committees or by any person on its behalf; or
(b)requires or enables the person in receipt of such legal aid or advice and assistance to do anything in relation to the Law Society,
that thing shall, on and after the appointed day, be required or, as the case may be, enabled to be done by or in relation to the Board.
(3)Any payments which are required to be made into or out of the Old Fund in connection with such legal aid or advice and assistance shall, on and after the appointed day, be made into or out of the Fund ; and for the purposes of this sub-paragraph, any reference in the 1967 Act or the 1972 Act to the Old Fund shall be construed as a reference to the Fund.
4(1)Any application for legal aid duly made under the 1967 Act or for advice and assistance duly made under the 1972 Act which has been made, but not determined, before the appointed day shall be treated as an application duly made under this Act.
(2)For the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph 3 above an application for legal aid is determined—
(a)in the case of legal aid in connection with—
(i)civil proceedings (including an appeal in such proceedings) ;
(ii)an appeal in criminal proceedings ; or
(iii)an appeal against the decision of the sheriff under Part III of the [1968 c. 49.] Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968, when a legal aid certificate is issued or refused ;
(b)in the case of legal aid in connection with—
(i)criminal proceedings ; or
(ii)proceedings before the sheriff under Part III of the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968,
when the court grants or refuses legal aid.
(3)For the purposes of this paragraph and paragraph 3 above an application for advice and assistance is determined when the solicitor to whom the application is made agrees or, as the case may be, refuses to accept the application and to provide advice and assistance.