Costs in the Case

Costs in the Case in United Kingdom

Definition of Costs in the Case

In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Costs in The Case : An order for costs made in *interim proceedings (interlocutory proceedings) by which the costs of the hearing in question are payable in accordance with the order for costs to be made at the trial. This will usually have the effect that they are paid by the overall loser of the litigation.

Compare with costs in any event.

Costs in Criminal Procedure

The expenses of prosecution for crime in England are dealt with in the following manner. Prosecutions for high treason and the cognate offence known as treason-felony are at the expense of the state, which alone undertakes such prosecutions. In the case of all other felonies and of many misdemeanours the expense of the prosecution falls on the local rate. In the case of other misdemeanours the expense falls on the prosecutor. Where an offence is summarily prosecuted the costs are in the discretion of the court, which may order the accused to pay them, if convicted, or the prosecutor to pay on acquittal, or may leave the parties to pay their own expenses. On charges of felony and a few misdemeanours the court may order the accused person to pay the expenses of his prosecution in relief of the local rate.

In a few cases, chiefly where the prosecution is vexatious, the court may order the prosecution to pay the expenses of the defence. The expenses of witnesses for the defence in any indictable offence may be paid out of the local rate when they have been called at the preliminary inquiry; and where the court in the case of a poor prisoner has certified that he should have legal aid, the expenses of the defence may be charged to the local rate. The local rate upon which the expenses fall is usually that of the county or borough in which the offence was committed; but sometimes is that of the place where the offence is tried.

Between 1852 and 1888 parliament reimbursed to the local authorities the expense imposed on the local rate. In 1888 the proceeds of certain taxes were set aside and handed over to the local authorities as a set-off to the expense incurred in prosecutions. In one class of case, offences committed in the admiralty jurisdiction, i.e. outside England, the treasury directly reimburses to the local authorities the expense incurred.

Under most, if not all, European codes, the state pays for the prosecution, subject to reimbursement by the accused, if the court so orders.

Source: Encyclopedia Britannica (19119


Posted

in

, ,

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *