The overarching obligation under s 24 of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) to ensure costs are reasonable and proportionate is a positive, non-delegable duty on legal practitioners that overrides client instructions. Filing excessive or unnecessary material in application books will constitute a breach, and the court may sanction solicitors by requiring them to indemnify their clients for a portion of the opposing party's costs and by disallowing recovery of their own costs from their client. The sanction provisions in ss 28 and 29 confer powers broader than the Rules or inherent jurisdiction, with both compensatory and punitive elements. Judicial officers are expected to actively enforce these obligations, including of their own motion.
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