Question juridique clé
Whether legal aid and appointment of counsel should be granted after the awarded party costs proved only partially recoverable.
Solution extraite
Yes. Because the awarded party compensation became unenforceable to the extent of the set-off, the requirements for legal aid were met and counsel had to be compensated from federal funds for the unrecoverable balance.
Motifs extraits
Where an earlier request for legal aid was treated as moot because party costs were awarded, but those costs later prove unenforceable, the Federal Supreme Court may retroactively determine payment from the court treasury. The remaining unpaid amount here made the party compensation effectively unrecoverable.