s 8 Variation and revocation of contribution orders
(1) A legal aid contribution order made against a person in connection with a legal aid order may be varied— (a) in the light of any further information as to his disposable income or disposable capital at the time when the legal aid contribution order was made ; or (b) in the light of any change in his disposable income or disposable capital at any time within such period beginning with the date of the legal aid order as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section (“the prescribed period ”). (2) Where no legal aid contribution order has been made against a person in connection with a legal aid order at the time when that order was made— (a) because his disposable income or disposable capital did not then exceed (or was then believed not to exceed) the limits referred to in subsection (1) of section 7 above ; or (b) because of subsection (4)(a) of that section, a legal aid contribution order may be made against that person at any subsequent time if it appears that his disposable income or disposable capital at any time within the prescribed period exceeds or exceeded the limits referred to in subsection (1) of that section. (3) Where a legal aid contribution order has been made against a person and it subsequently appears that his disposable income or disposable capital at the time when the order was made was such that no legal aid contribution order should have been made in his case, the order shall be revoked ; but if the order is revoked subsection (2) above shall apply as if the order had never been made. (4) The powers conferred by the foregoing provisions of this section shall be exercisable by the court that made the legal aid order in question except that— (a) where the relevant proceedings are being heard or have been concluded in a different court, those powers shall, subject to paragraph (b) below, be exercisable by that court ; and (6) where any sum in respect of a contribution under a legal aid contribution order falls due at a time after the conclusion of the relevant proceedings, the power conferred by subsection (1) above to vary the order so far as relates to any sum falling due as aforesaid shall be exercisable by the collecting court. (5) At the conclusion of the relevant proceedings the court in which those proceedings are concluded may, if it thinks fit— (a) remit any sum due under a legal aid contribution order from a legally assisted person which falls to be paid after the conclusion of those proceedings or, if that person has been acquitted, remit or order the repayment of any sum due from or paid by him under such an order ; (b) remit or order the repayment of any sum due from or paid by an appropriate contributor under such an order ; and where a legally assisted person successfully appeals against his conviction the court which allows his appeal may remit or order the repayment of any sum due from or paid by him or an appropriate contributor under such an order. (6) Where the legal aid order in connection with which a legal aid contribution order was made is revoked, the foregoing provisions of this section shall have effect as if the relevant proceedings had then been concluded. (7) Where a legal aid contribution order is revoked, or is varied to an amount less than what has already been paid, any sum paid or, as the case may be, overpaid under the order shall be repaid. (8) For the purposes of this section the relevant proceedings, in relation to a legal aid contribution order, are the proceedings for the purposes of which legal aid was ordered to be given by the legal aid order in connection with which the legal aid contribution order was made except that where those proceedings are proceedings before a magistrates’ court which result— (a) in the legally assisted person being committed to the Crown Court for trial or sentence ; or (b) in his case being remitted to a juvenile court in pursuance of section 56(1) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 or section 2(11) of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, the relevant proceedings include the proceeedings before the Crown Court or that juvenile court.