Section 44.2

The court has discretion as to— whether costs are payable by one party to another; the amount of those costs; and when they are to be paid. If the court decides to make an order about costs— the general rule is that the unsuccessful party will be ordered to pay the costs of the successful party; but the court may make a different order. The general rule does not apply to the following proceedings— proceedings in the Court of Appeal on an application or appeal made in connection with proceedings in the Family Division; or proceedings in the Court of Appeal from a judgment, direction, decision or order given or made in probate proceedings or family proceedings. In deciding what order (if any) to make about costs, the court will have regard to all the circumstances, including— the conduct of all the parties; whether a party has succeeded on part of its case, even if that party has not been wholly successful; and any admissible offer to settle made by a party which is drawn to the court’s attention, and which is not an offer to which costs consequences under Part 36 apply. The conduct of the parties includes— conduct before, as well as during, the proceedings and in particular the extent to which the parties followed the Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct or any relevant pre-action protocol; whether it was reasonable for a party to raise, pursue or contest a particular allegation or issue; the manner in which a party has pursued or defended its case or a particular allegation or issue; ... whether a claimant who has succeeded in the claim, in whole or in part, exaggerated its claim ; and whether a party failed to comply with an order for alternative dispute resolution, or unreasonably failed to engage in alternative dispute resolution. The orders which the court may make under this rule include an order that a party must pay— a proportion of another party’s costs; a stated amount in respect of another party’s costs; costs from or until a certain date only; costs incurred before proceedings have begun; costs relating to particular steps taken in the proceedings; costs relating only to a distinct part of the proceedings; and interest on costs from or until a certain date, including a date before judgment. Before the court considers making an order under paragraph (6)(f), it will consider whether it is practicable to make an order under paragraph (6)(a) or (c) instead. Where the court orders a party to pay costs subject to detailed assessment, it will order that party to pay a reasonable sum on account of costs, unless there is good reason not to do so. In respect of a SLAPP claim, a court may not exercise its discretion so as to order a defendant to pay a claimant’s costs except where, in the court’s view, misconduct of the defendant in relation to the claim justifies such an order. For the purposes of paragraph (9), a SLAPP claim is strategic litigation against public participation being a SLAPP claim within the meaning of section 195 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023. (Rules 20.2 and 20.3 provide that counterclaims and other additional claims are treated as claims and that references to a claimant or a defendant include a party bringing or defending an additional claim.)

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Source: legislation.gov.uk · retrieved 2026-08-15