Who does the effect of litigation legal aid bind, and what happens to deferred costs when the case passes to a successor in the litigation?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file of this kind, we read the court's decision granting legal aid to see whose name it names, and the papers on any transfer of the case to a successor, so that the costs left unpaid can be traced to that successor.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the first paragraph literally: the effect of legal aid extends only to the person it was granted to, so the aid and any relief from costs it carries stay with that person alone, and do not travel to anyone else.
The second reading turns on the second paragraph, where the court may order payment of the costs deferred to a successor in the litigation: here the aid's costs can reach beyond the original recipient, since the court may direct the successor to pay what was left.
Your judgment
When a case passes to a successor, how could the file show which deferred costs are the successor's to pay rather than the original aided party's?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to change who the effect of legal aid reaches or the court's power over deferred costs, or if a court decision explains what counts as costs deferred to a successor.