Where a defendant or respondent seeks determination of a question as a separate issue for the benefit of resolving the question generally (not merely for the subject litigation), and there is a disparity in financial strengths and interests between the parties, indemnity costs may be ordered against the party seeking the determination. A party's offer not to seek costs if successful, combined with characterisation of the issue as 'scheme sensitive', may evidence that the litigation is being treated as a test case on a matter of public interest.
The full text is available to signed-in members, including the 3 later cases that cite this judgment.
2 of the 3 citing cases carry a classified treatment. How each court treated it is available to signed-in members.