Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986, Section 23 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 04 March 2025. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
(1)Criminal legal aid shall be available on an application made to the court—
(a)F1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b)where a person who has not previously been sentenced to imprisonment or detention has been convicted in summary proceedings, and the court is considering a sentence of imprisonment or detention or the imposition of imprisonment under section 396(2) of the M1Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1975 (failure to pay a fine when no time for payment is allowed),
if the court is satisfied after consideration of the person’s financial circumstances that the expenses of the case cannot be met without undue hardship to him or his dependants.
(2)In subsection (1) above, “the court” means—
(a)F2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b)in relation to summary proceedings, the court before which the proceedings are being taken,
and references in that subsection to detention shall be construed in accordance with [F3section 204(4)(b) of the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995].
Textual Amendments
F1S. 23(1)(a) repealed (25.11.2010) by Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 5), ss. 64(3)(a), 82(2) (with s. 77); S.S.I. 2010/376, art 2
F2S. 23(2)(a) repealed (25.11.2010) by Legal Profession and Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 2007 (asp 5), ss. 64(3)(b), 82(2), (with s. 77); S.S.I. 2010/376, art 2
F3Words in s. 23(2) substituted (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 40, ss. 5, 7(2), Sch. 4 para. 63(4)
Marginal Citations
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