Page 1263 - Week 05 - Thursday, 25 June 1992
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The Bill endeavours to adopt some procedures from other jurisdictions that are immediately relevant for this purpose. A very important power the commission will have under the Bill will be to secure contributions by a charge over the property of a legal aid applicant. This charge will be created by simply registering a notice with the Registrar of Titles. The notice will contain the particulars of the land to be charged and the amount payable by the applicant. This charge will rank in priority with subsequent legal interests over the land and include a power of sale. The power of sale under the charge will be a very effective recovery device in respect of defaulting debtors, especially when a debtor becomes untraceable or where a debtor has means without having liquidity. The Bill proposes to impose certain notice requirements for the exercise of the power. These are meant to make the power a least preferred option or a measure of last resort.
There is an existing provision in the principal Act where, on a direction given by the commission to a legal aid applicant, the contribution due from him or her becomes a debt due and payable to the commission. The commission can recover this debt in court by means of a simple summary procedure. The Bill enables the commission to similarly direct a legally assisted person's solicitor to pay the contributions due to it out of moneys recovered on behalf of the person and, on such direction, the amount directed to be paid becomes payable as a debt by the solicitor. The Bill provides for a debt due to the commission, arising from its direction to pay, to accrue interest at rates prescribed in the Magistrates Court (Civil Jurisdiction) Regulations. Hence, the commission will be fairly compensated for any delay in recovering the debt. Another amendment reduces to 28 days the period after which a legally aided person's right to recovery may be statutorily assigned to the commission. The current period is three months.
With a view to streamlining the review procedure under the Act, the Bill will reduce the period in which an aggrieved person can apply for review of a decision. At present this period is set at three months. The Bill reduces the period to 28 days and the commission will be able to extend the period up to another 28 days.
Mr Humphries: A discretionary extension; it sounds good.
MR CONNOLLY: Indeed, Mr Humphries, yes. A review committee reviews the commission's decisions under the Act. Review committees are constituted by members appointed by the Minister. A senior member appointed by the Minister presides at meetings of a committee. Where a member of a committee resigns or otherwise ceases to be on the committee, the committee often becomes unable to function until the Minister appoints another person. The appointment of deputies has not been a satisfactory solution to this problem. Hence, there have been circumstances where a review could not be conducted until the Minister, by going through the procedure of calling fresh nominations, had appointed a member to fill a vacancy in a committee.
The Bill removes this difficulty by enabling the chief executive officer of the commission to choose three members of a review committee whenever an application is made for review of a decision. Members will be chosen from three panels that comprise Bar Association nominees, Law Society nominees, and lay representatives, respectively. Members of a committee will elect one of their number to preside at meetings. In order to retain ministerial control over the constitution of review committees, the Bill entrusts the Minister with the power to
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