Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986

22 Automatic availability of criminal legal aid

(1) Subject to regulations made under section 21(2) of this Act, criminal legal aid shall be available to every accused person—

(a) where he is given representation as mentioned in paragraph (b) of section 21(4) of this Act;

(b) where his case is being prosecuted under solemn procedure until either—

(i) an application for legal aid under section 23(1)(a) of this Act has been determined ; or

(ii) he is admitted to bail or he is committed until liberated in due course of law,

whichever first occurs;

(c) where he is being prosecuted under summary procedure, and either is in custody or has been liberated under section 295(1)(a) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (liberation by police on undertaking to appear)—

(i) until the conclusion of the first diet at which he tenders a plea of guilty or not guilty ; or

(ii) where he has tendered a plea of guilty at that diet, until his case is finally disposed of;

(d) where he is in custody and he is being prosecuted under summary procedure and he has—

(i) tendered a plea of not guilty ; and

(ii) made an application to the Board for legal aid in connection with the proceedings,

until his application has been determined by the Board ; and

(e) where he is being prosecuted under section 255 or 452B of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (new prosecution for same or similar offence), until his case is finally disposed of.

(2) Criminal legal aid made available in the circumstances referred to in paragraph (c)(i) of subsection (1) above shall also be available in connection with any steps taken in the making of and representation in connection with any application for liberation following upon the diet referred to in that paragraph.