Statutory Rules of Northern Ireland
2015 No. 194 (C. 13)

Access To Justice
The Access to Justice (2003 Order) (Commencement No. 7, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015

Made
26th March 2015

Coming into operation
1st April 2015

The Department of Justice makes the following Order in exercise of the powers conferred by Articles 1(2) and 48(1) of the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003(1), and now vested in it(2).

Citation and interpretation

1.—(1) This Order may be cited as the Access to Justice (2003 Order) (Commencement No. 7, Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order (Northern Ireland) 2015.

(2) In this Order—

“advice”, “assistance” and “legal aid” have the respective meanings given by Article 27 of the 1981 Order;

“assistance by way of representation” has the meaning given by Article 5(1) of the 1981 Order;

“the Department” means the Department of Justice;

“exceptional legal aid” has the meaning given by Article 10A of the 1981 Order;

“the 1981 Order” means the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981(3);

“the 2003 Order” means the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.

Commencement of provisions in the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003

2.  The provisions in the 2003 Order specified in the Schedule to this Order shall come into operation on 1st April 2015.

Transitional provisions and savings

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), nothing in the provisions commenced by this Order shall take effect in relation to any of the following—

(a)except where paragraph (b) applies, advice and assistance under Part 2 of the 1981 Order where the application is signed before 1st April 2015;

(b)assistance by way of representation under Part 2 of the 1981 Order where the application is signed before 1st April 2015 and received by the Department before 1st May 2015;

(c)legal aid under Part 2 of the 1981 Order where the application is signed before 1st April 2015 and received by the Department before 1st May 2015;

(d)exceptional legal aid under Part 2 of the 1981 Order where the application is signed before 1st April 2015 and received by the Department before 1st May 2015;

(e)free legal aid under Part 3 of the 1981 Order in relation to criminal proceedings.

(2) Any reference to the Northern Ireland Legal Services Commission in any statutory provision made, or treated as made, under the 1981 Order, in so far as it remains in operation, shall be construed as a reference to the Department.

(3) Without prejudice to paragraph (1), the repeal of Articles 22 and 27 of the 1981 Order shall not affect the power under that Order to make regulations in relation to any of the services mentioned in paragraph (1)(a) to (d).

Consultation

4.  Consultation undertaken by the Department in relation to any remuneration order made under Article 12(3) of the 2003 Order is deemed to be consultation by the Department under Article 47(2) of that Order notwithstanding that at the time of that consultation Article 47(2) was not in operation.

Prohibitory directions

5.  With effect from 1st April 2015, any prohibitory direction made under regulation 8 of the Legal Aid (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1965(4) shall also have effect as if it had been made in accordance with regulation 30 of the Civil Legal Services (General) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2015(5).

Sealed with the Official Seal of the Department of Justice on 26th March 2015

David Ford
Minister of Justice

Article 2

SCHEDULEPROVISIONS OF THE ACCESS TO JUSTICE (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 2003 COMING INTO OPERATION ON 1st APRIL 2015

Provisions of the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Subject matter of provision

Article 6
Planning

Article 7(6) and (7)
Powers of the Department

Article 9
Northern Ireland law and foreign law

Articles 10 to 20A
Civil legal services

Article 32
Restriction of disclosure of information

Article 33

Misrepresentation etc.

Article 34
Position of service providers and other parties etc.

Article 35
Solicitors and barristers

Article 36
Register of persons providing services

Article 47
Remuneration orders

Schedule 2
Civil Legal Services: Excluded Services

Schedule 4, except for paragraphs 6(1) to (3),10(a), 15 and 17
Minor and Consequential Amendments

Schedule 5, the entries in respect of—
Repeals – Extent of repeal

The Solicitors (Northern Ireland) Order 1976
The full entry

The Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981
Part 2, to the extent that it remains in operation prior to the making of this Order

The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982
The full entry

The Transfer of Functions (Legal Aid and Maintenance Orders) (Northern Ireland) Order 1982
Paragraphs 1(a) to (h) and (l), 2, 3 and 5

The Representation of the People Act 1983
The full entry

The Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985
The full entry

The Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
The full entry

The Companies Consolidation (Consequential Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
The full entry

The Legal Advice and Assistance (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
The full entry

The Social Security (Northern Ireland) Order 1986
The full entry

The Solicitors (Amendment) (Northern Ireland) Order 1989
The full entry

The Social Security (Consequential Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Act 1992
The full entry

The Family Law (Northern Ireland) Order 1993
The full entry

The Companies (1990) (Eligibility for Appointment as Company Auditor) (Consequential Amendments) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1993
The full entry

The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995
The full entry

The Jobseekers Allowance (Northern Ireland) Order 1995
The full entry

The Family Homes and Domestic Violence (Northern Ireland) Order 1998
The full entry

The Scotland Act 1998 (Consequential Modifications) (No. 1) Order 1999
The full entry

The Terrorism Act 2000
Paragraph 4 in Schedule 15

The Anti-Terrorism, Crime and Security Act 2001
The full entry

The Tax Credits Act 2002
The full entry

The Justice (Northern Ireland) Act 2002
Section 77 and, in Schedule 12, paragraphs 17 and 28

The Proceeds of Crime Act 2002
The full entry

Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002
The full entry

The Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003
Paragraph 6(2) and (4) in Schedule 4

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Order)

This Order brings the following provisions of the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 into operation on 1st April 2015:

Articles 6 (planning), 7(6) and (7) (powers of the Department), 9 (Northern Ireland law and foreign law), 10 to 20A (civil legal services), 32 (restriction of disclosure of information), 33 (misrepresentation etc.), 34 (position of service providers and other parties etc.), 35 (solicitors and barristers), 36 (register of persons providing services), 47 (remuneration orders) and Schedule 2 (Civil Legal Services: Excluded Services), together with Schedule 4 (Minor and Consequential Amendments), partially and Schedule 5 (Repeals), partially.

Those provisions which relate both to civil and to criminal matters are brought into operation regarding civil matters only.

This Order contains transitional and savings provisions relating to the replacement of the legal aid scheme under the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 by the new scheme established for civil legal services under the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order 2003 and, in particular, relating to existing cases (Article 3).

This Order also contains transitional provisions regarding consultation in relation to any remuneration order made for civil matters (Article 4) and prohibitory directions (Article 5).

NOTE AS TO EARLIER COMMENCEMENT ORDERS

(This note is not part of the Order)

Provision of the Access to Justice (Northern Ireland) Order
Date of Commencement
Statutory Rule Number

Article 3(1) and (4) partially
28th July 2003
S.R. 2003 No. 344

Article 4
28th July 2003

Article 48(2) and (3) partially
28th July 2003

Schedule 1, paragraphs 1 to 11, 13 and 14
28th July 2003

Schedule 3, paragraphs 8 to 11
28th July 2003

Article 3(1), (2), (3) and (4)
1st November 2003

Article 7(1) to (5)
1st November 2003

Article 8
1st November 2003

Article 46(1) and (3)
1st November 2003
(As amended by S.R. 2003 No. 439)

Article 48(2) and (3)
1st November 2003

Schedule 49(1) and (2) partially
1st November 2003

Schedule 1, paragraphs 12(1)(b) and (2) and paragraphs 15 to 18
1st November 2003

Schedule 3, paragraphs 1 to 7, 12 and 13
1st November 2003

Schedule 4, paragraphs 10(a) and 17
1st November 2003

Schedule 5 partially
1st November 2003

Article 12(8) to (11)
2nd November 2003
S.R. 2003 No. 440

Article 49(1) and (2) partially
2nd November 2003

Schedule 4, paragraphs 6(1) and (2)
2nd November 2003

Schedule 5 partially
2nd November 2003

Schedule 4, paragraphs 6(3)
9th March 2005 and 29 August 2009

S.R. 2005 No. 111, as amended by S.R. 2009 No. 312

Article 46(2)
9th November 2005
S.R. 2005 No. 503

Schedule 4, paragraph 15
20th March 2006
S.R. 2006 No. 27

Schedule 5 partially
20th March 2006

(1)
S.I. 2003/435 (N.I. 10)

(2)
S.I. 2010/976

(3)
S.I. 1981/228 (N.I. 8)

(4)
S.R. & O. 1965 No. 217, which was amended by S.R. 2003 No. 438 and to which there have been other amendments not relevant to this Order

(5)
S.R. 2015 No. 195