The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2012/3098 |
| Year | 2012 |
Statutory Instruments
2012 No. 3098
Legal Aid And Advice, England And Wales
The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012
Made
12th December 2012
Laid before Parliament
17th December 2012
Coming into force
1st April 2013
The Lord Chancellor makes the following Regulations
M1
in exercise of the powers conferred by sections 5(2) and (4), 12(2) to (6), 28(1) and (3) and 41(1)(a) and (b), (2) and (3)(a) and (b) of, and paragraph 3(3) and (4) of Schedule 3 to, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012
M2
.
Marginal Citations
M1
Section 42(1) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10) provides that in Part 1 of that Act “regulations” means regulations made by the Lord Chancellor.
M2
2012 c. 10.
These Regulations may be cited as the Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) Regulations 2012 and come into force on 1st April 2013.
In these Regulations—
“
the Act
” means the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012;
“
adjudicator
” means an independent funding adjudicator appointed by the Lord Chancellor under section 2 of the Act;
“
business day
” means any day except Saturday, Sunday, a bank holiday, Good Friday or Christmas Day;
“
child
” means an individual under the age of 18;
“
children's guardian
” has the meaning given in rule 2.3 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010
M3
;
“
Controlled Work
” has the meaning given in regulation 21(2);
“
costs
” means the fees payable to any provider calculated by reference to remuneration rates set out in arrangements made by the Lord Chancellor under section 2(1) of the Act or in regulations under section 2(3) of the Act, including (but not limited to)—
(a)
counsel's fees;
(b)
disbursements; and
(c)
any fees paid to providers at an enhanced rate,
but not including Value Added Tax;
“
cost benefit criteria
” means the criteria of that name which the Director
M4
must apply when determining whether an individual qualifies for full representation in accordance with regulations made under section 11 of the Act;
“
the effective administration of justice test
” has the meaning given in regulation 31(5);
“
emergency representation
” means legal representation (that is not Controlled Work) or family help (higher) provided following a determination made on an urgent application;
F1
...
“
family dispute
” means any matter which is described in any of the following paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act—
(a)
paragraph 1 (care, supervision and protection of children);
(b)
F2
paragraph 1A (special guardianship);
(c)
paragraph 9 (inherent jurisdiction of the High Court in relation to children and vulnerable adults), to the extent that it relates to—
(i)
a child; or
(ii)
a vulnerable adult, but only in so far as such matters arise out of a family relationship within the meaning of paragraph 14(7) of Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Act;
(d)
paragraph 10 (unlawful removal of children);
(e)
paragraph 11 (family homes and
F3
domestic abuse
);
(f)
paragraph 12 (victims of
F3
domestic abuse
and family matters);
(g)
paragraph 13 (protection of children and family matters);
(h)
paragraph 14 (mediation in family disputes);
(i)
paragraph 15 (children who are parties to family proceedings);
(j)
F4
paragraph 15A (female genital mutilation protection orders);
(k)
paragraph 16 (forced marriage);
(l)
paragraph 17 (EU and international agreements concerning children); or
(m)
paragraph 18 (EU and international agreements concerning maintenance);
“
individual case contract
” means an arrangement between the Lord Chancellor and a provider under section 2(1) of the Act for the provision of civil legal services in an individual case;
“
Licensed Work
” has the meaning given in regulation 29(2);
“
litigation friend
” has the meaning given in Part 21 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998
M5
and rule 2.3 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010;
“
parental order reporter
” has the meaning given in rule 13.1 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010;
“
prospects of success
” means the prospects of success as assessed by the Director in accordance with regulations made under section 11 of the Act;
“
protected party
” means a party or a proposed party who lacks capacity (within the meaning of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
M6
) to conduct proceedings;
“
provider
” means a person who provides civil legal services under Part 1 of the Act;
“
revocation
” means the withdrawal of a determination which has the consequences described in regulations made under section 23 and 26 of the Act (and “revoked” and “revoke” have equivalent meanings);
“
Special Case Work
” means civil legal services provided under an individual case contract in the circumstances described in regulation 54(3);
“
specialist telephone provider
” means a provider with whom the Lord Chancellor has made an arrangement under section 2(1) of the Act for the provision of civil legal services by telephone or other means that do not require the attendance in person of the individual to whom the services are provided; and
“2010 Standard Civil Contract”, “2013 Standard Civil Contract”
F5
, “2013 CLA Contract”
F6
, “2014 Standard Civil Contract”
F7
, “2015 Standard Civil Contract”, “2018 Standard Civil Contract”
F8
, “2018 CLA Contract”, “2021 CLA Contract (Education and Discrimination)” and “2024 Standard Civil Contract”
mean the contracts so named between the Lord Chancellor and a provider for the provision of civil legal services
M7
.
Marginal Citations
M3
S.I. 2010/2955.
M4
Section 42(1) of the Act provides that in Part 1 of the Act “the Director” means the Director of Legal Aid Casework.
M5
S.I. 1998/3132. Part 21 was substituted by S.I. 2007/2204.
M6
2005 c. 9.
M7
The 2010 Standard Civil Contract, 2013 Standard Civil Contract and 2013 CLA Contract are available at www.justice.gov.uk/legal-aid. Copies can be inspected at The Legal Aid Agency (Head Office) at 102 Petty France, London, SW1H 9AJ.
Amendments (Textual)
F1
Words in reg. 2 omitted (15.5.2020) by virtue of The Civil Legal Aid (Procedure) (Amendment) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 2020/439), regs. 1, 4 (with reg. 9)
F2
Words in reg. 2 inserted (1.5.2023) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Legal Aid: Family and Domestic Abuse) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2023 (S.I. 2023/150), arts. 3(2)(e), 7(2)
F3
Words in reg. 2 substituted (21.5.2025) by The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (Legal Aid: Domestic Abuse) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2025 (S.I. 2025/611), arts. 1(1)...
Get this document and AI-powered insights with a free trial of vLex and Vincent AI
Get Started for FreeStart Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
Start Your Free Trial of vLex and Vincent AI, Your Precision-Engineered Legal Assistant
-
Access comprehensive legal content with no limitations across vLex's unparalleled global legal database
-
Build stronger arguments with verified citations and CERT citator that tracks case history and precedential strength
-
Transform your legal research from hours to minutes with Vincent AI's intelligent search and analysis capabilities
-
Elevate your practice by focusing your expertise where it matters most while Vincent handles the heavy lifting
