23. The Fonds shall study the applicant’s application and it may, for that purpose, meet with the applicant or his attorney and allow him to present observations.
In order to determine whether to grant assistance, the Fonds shall assess whether the class action may be brought or continued without such assistance; in addition, if the status of representative has not yet been ascribed to the applicant, the Fonds shall consider the probable existence of the right he intends to assert and the probability that the class action will be brought.
Where the representative or a member requesting to be substituted for him intends to appeal the judgment which decides the questions of law or fact dealt with collectively, the Fonds, in order to determine whether to grant or terminate assistance, shall assess whether the action may be continued without such assistance and whether the appeal is likely to succeed if brought.
The Fonds may defer the study of a part of the application, refuse assistance or grant it, in whole or in part; in all cases, it shall render its decision within one month following receipt of the application.
1978, c. 8, s. 23; 1991, c. 19, s. 1; 1997, c. 43, s. 555.