109. It was the responsibility of the Courts of the Respondent to provide the Applicant with the Court record he required to pursue his appeal. Failure to do so and then maintain that the delay in the hearing of the Applicant's appeal was the Applicant's fault is unacceptable. The Applicant's case was not a complex one, the Applicant made several attempts to obtain the relevant records of proceedings but the judicial authorities unduly delayed in providing him with these records. 110. Regarding the Applicant's application for review and whether it contributed to the inordinate delay of hearing the Applicant's matters, the Court considers this to be moot. This is because the Court has found that there was an inordinate delay in the hearing of the Applicant's appeal by the Court of Appeal emanating from the original Criminal Case Number 321 of 1996. Ill. The alleged Denial of Legal Aid 111. The Applicant alleges that his right to free legal assistance was violated when he was denied legal aid despite being a lay, indigent and incarcerated person, having been charged with a serious offence. 112. The Applicant states that Section 3 of the Legal Aid (Criminal Proceedings) Act places a positive obligation on the certifying authority to make a determination to grant legal aid where it is desirable, in the interests of justice, or where the accused does not have the means to retain legal aid. The Applicant further states that there is no requirement under the Act stipulating that the accused