Legal Aid South Africa Act, 2014 (Act No. 39 of 2014)Regulations6. Criminal appeals |
| (1) | Legal aid may be provided for an intended criminal appeal if— |
| (a) | the convicted person is unable to afford the cost of his or her own legal representation for an application for leave to appeal, a petition for leave to appeal, or for the appeal; |
| (b) | the convicted person has been sentenced to imprisonment with an unsuspended portion of more than three months, and if given the option of a fine, that fine is unpaid for two weeks after the date of sentence; |
| (c) | an application for leave to appeal has been made in time or a within a period of less than one year since the date of sentence; or |
| (d) | the convicted person has not been given the right to an appeal or review by a higher court. |
| (2) | The provision of legal aid to a convicted person contemplated in subregulation (1) is limited to— |
| (a) | an application for leave to appeal to the trial court that sentenced the convicted person; |
| (b) | an application for leave to appeal, or a petition for leave to appeal, to a higher court if leave to appeal is refused by the trial court; and |
| (c) | an appeal, if leave to appeal is granted as contemplated in paragraph (a) or (b), or when the convicted person has an automatic right of appeal. |
| (3) | Legal aid for any other appeal may only be granted if Legal Aid South Africa is of the opinion that there are good prospects of success in further proceeding with an appeal. |
| (4) | If a convicted person applies for legal aid for— |
| (a) | an application for leave to appeal; |
| (b) | a petition for leave to appeal; or |
| (c) | for a condonation application for an appeal that is out of time, legal aid may be granted for both the application for leave to appeal and the condonation application, or for the appeal itself, subject to the provisions of subregulations (1)(c), (2) and (3). |
| (5) | If a convicted person has received legal aid for the trial he or she does not have to re-apply for legal aid for an appeal, once leave to appeal has been granted. |
| (6) | If a convicted person has not received legal aid for the trial he or she must apply for legal aid for an application or a petition for leave to appeal. |