Commentary Schedule 3: Legal aid for legal persons Section 36: Misrepresentation
243.Section 36 provides criminal penalties for people who intentionally fail to comply with requirements to provide documents or information under Part 1 of the Act, and for people who make a statement or representation which they know or believe to be false when providing documents and information in accordance with Part 1 of the Act. The section largely replicates equivalent provisions in section 21 of the Access to Justice Act 1999. A person found guilty of an offence under this section is liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale, which is currently £2,500. Unlike the offence under section 21 of the Access to Justice Act 1999, the offence under this section is not punishable by imprisonment.
244.This section also enables the Lord Chancellor to take proceedings in the county courts to recover losses arising as a result of the failure of an individual to provide documents or information or as the result of a false statement or false representation as required under Part 1 of the Act.