Commentary on Sections Part 1, Chapter 3 – Miscellaneous Provision Section 28: Eligibility of victims for civil legal aid
This section provides for a waiver of the financial eligibility rules that would otherwise apply in determining a person’s application f civil legal services to enable them to be represented as a respondent in proceedings under Article 8 of the Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995.  These proceedings involve contact, residence, specific issues and prohibited steps orders relating to the care of children by people with parental responsibility for them.  The waiver would apply in circumstances where the person is a victim of domestic abuse, and where the person bringing the application against them is their abuser.