Court Procedures Rules 2006

Unless these rules otherwise provide, the court must not make an order for costs in a proceeding against a person who is not a party to the proceeding except in accordance with subrule (2).

For provisions of these rules that otherwise provide, see r 745 (Freezing orders—costs) and r 755 (Search orders—costs).

The court may make an order—

for payment by a relator in a proceeding of all or part of the costs of a party to the proceeding; or

A relator is a person who starts and carries on a proceeding in the Attorney-General’s name. A person may bring a proceeding as relator with the Attorney-General’s permission (or fiat) where the proceeding involves the public interest and the person would otherwise not have standing to bring the proceeding.

for payment by a person of all or part of the costs of a party to a proceeding that were caused by—

the person’s contravention of an order made by the court in the proceeding that is binding on the person; or

the person’s breach of an undertaking given to the court by the person in the proceeding; or

for payment, by a person who has committed contempt of court or an abuse of the court’s process, of all or part of the costs of a party to a proceeding that were caused by the contempt or abuse of process; or

for costs against a person who purports, without authority, to conduct a proceeding in the name of someone else; or

for costs against a person who starts or carries on a proceeding, or purports to do so, as an authorised director of a corporation; or

of the kind mentioned in rule 1704; or

for costs against a person in the exercise of its supervisory jurisdiction over its own proceedings and its own officers, including, for example, an order for costs against legal practitioners and court-appointed liquidators and receivers.

The court may order a legal practitioner to pay all or part of a party’s costs if the costs are incurred because of the practitioner’s conduct (see r 1753 (Costs—legal practitioner’s delay etc).

Pt 6.2 (Applications in proceedings) applies to an application for an order under this rule.

The court may make an order under subrule (2) (g) on its own initiative if justice requires it.