Legal Aid (Amendment) Act 1988 (ACT)

The case before the court was an application by the ACT Legal Aid Commission for an order that would allow them to provide legal assistance in relation to proceedings in a Contracting State under the Convention on International Access to Justice. The matter was heard in the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court.

The legal issues that the court had to decide were whether the Legal Aid (Amendment) Ordinance 1988 allowed the ACT Legal Aid Commission to provide legal assistance in relation to proceedings in a Contracting State under the Convention on International Access to Justice and, if so, whether the Commission had the authority to do so under the Legal Aid Ordinance 1977.

The court found that the Legal Aid (Amendment) Ordinance 1988 did allow the Commission to provide legal assistance in relation to proceedings in a Contracting State under the Convention on International Access to Justice and that the Commission did have the authority to do so under the Legal Aid Ordinance 1977. The court held that the insertion of section 28A into the Principal Ordinance was valid and that the Commission's interpretation of the amended section was correct.

The court's final orders were that the ACT Legal Aid Commission was authorised to provide legal assistance in relation to proceedings in a Contracting State under the Convention on International Access to Justice, subject to the terms and conditions set out in the amended section 28A of the Legal Aid Ordinance 1977.