New Zealand Case Law: Decisions & Judgments | LexChat

New Zealand Case Law

Grant of legal aid

  • 13 Jul 2023

    REEKIE v LEGAL SERVICES COMMISSIONER [2023] NZHC 1832

    Citation
    [2023] NZHC 1832
    Court
    High Court

    The High Court dismissed the appeal and held the Commissioner and the Tribunal lawfully declined appellate legal aid after two experienced counsel concluded prospects of success were insufficient; the statutory tests applied (assessing prospects and whether the decision was manifestly unreasonable or wrong in law) were correct and the decisions were neither manifestly unreasonable nor legally wrong.

    • Grant of legal aid
    • Prospects of success test
    • Judicial review/tribunal review
    • Appeal on question of law
    • Reliance on counsel opinions

  • 8 Jul 2015

    D GRANT AND S KHOV v J COLLINS and A BROWN [2015] NZHC

    Citation
    openlaw-104c889b_daae_4ec1_b4f1_88c7d03def1e.pdf
    Court
    High Court

    The court certified that $1,592 is the amount of costs that would have been awarded but for the grant of legal aid to the first defendant because his conduct did not meet the exceptional circumstances threshold in s45(3)(a)(b) and reasonable explanations for delays were given.

    • Costs of legal proceedings
    • Legal services act s45
    • Grant of legal aid
    • Certification of hypothetical costs

  • 9 Oct 2006

    SHC JOHNS V THE LEGAL AID REVIEW PANEL AND ANOR HC AK CIV 2006-404-1435

    Citation
    openlaw-4970b031_b49d_4678_9606_7f09d95ca95e.pdf
    Court
    High Court

    Because section 15 of the Legal Services Act 2000 does not permit the Agency to impose a condition that an aided person must make a fresh application as a condition of a grant, the Agency's 9 June 2003 letter imposed an unlawful condition rendering the purported grant invalid; consequently Johns was not a legally aided person for the Court of Appeal appeal and the Agency had no entitlement to recover any part of the costs award, making the Agency's subsequent demands ultra vires.

    • Grant of legal aid
    • Conditions of grant
    • Legitimate expectation
    • Ultra vires
    • Costs recovery