ENG-1984 — Page 95

CONSTITUTION AND ADMINISTRATION

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Personal allowances used in calculating disposable income and disposable capital are constantly reviewed to ensure that the effects of inflation do not substantially reduce the number of people who fall within the legal aid financial limits. In accordance with this policy, on February 1, 1984, the personal allowances were raised by about 13 per cent and will be reviewed again in 1985. For an applicant to qualify on ‘merits', the Director of Legal Aid has to be satisfied that the applicant has a reasonable chance of succeeding in the litigation for which he seeks aid. Upon being granted legal aid, the aided person's case is assigned to one of the Legal Aid Department's own lawyers, of whom 27 are solely engaged in conducting litigation on behalf of legally aided clients, or it may be assigned to a solicitor in private practice, and to a barrister, when necessary.

The department's litigation divisions handle principally personal injury cases, involving traffic accident claims and industrial accident cases, matrimonial and family law cases, and admiralty, winding-up and bankruptcy cases to recover unpaid wages on behalf of employees of companies in financial difficulties. In addition, a large number of general litigation cases are dealt with, involving landlord and tenant, breach of contract and professional negligence cases.

In 1984, a total of $61 million was recovered by the department's lawyers on behalf of legally aided clients.

Legal aid in civil cases is available for proceedings in the District Court, the High Court, the Court of Appeal, and for appeals to the Privy Council in London. An applicant who is refused legal aid may appeal against that refusal to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, or in Privy Council cases, to a committee of review. In criminal cases, legal aid is available in the District Court, High Court, Court of Appeal and for appeals to the Privy Council. Since January 1, 1984, legal aid may also be granted for representation at proceedings in the Magistrates' Court where the prosecution is seeking committal of the defendant to the High Court for trial.

The total number of applications for legal aid in criminal cases in 1984 was 3 048, of which 1837 were granted.

Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme

The major innovation in 1984 was the introduction on October 1 of the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme. This scheme was introduced to assist members of the so-called 'sandwich class', being those wishing to take legal proceedings, whose means place them outside the financial limits for legal aid but are not sufficient to meet the sometimes heavy cost of conducting litigation through a private solicitor.

Under the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme, applicants may be granted legal aid if their gross income does not exceed $15,000 per month and their total assets, excluding the value of an owner occupied residence and other allowances, do not exceed $100,000. The scheme is at present restricted to claims for damages in the High Court for personal injuries or death, but depending on the success of the scheme it may be extended to cover other types of cases.

The scheme is financed by a fund established by a loan from the Government Lotteries Fund, and it is a condition of being granted legal aid under the scheme that applicants agree to make a contribution to the fund of a percentage of any damages recovered for them, such percentage depending on the amount recovered and whether or not the case is settled prior to trial of the action. The highest percentage is 12 per cent and the lowest five per cent. It is expected that the fund will eventually be self-financing, when there is sufficient income from successful actions to cover the cost of those which are unsuccessful.