| (1) |
The Court may make orders in relation to costs which it considers just, and it may, in exercising that discretion— |
| (a) |
elect not to award costs against an unsuccessful party— |
| (i) |
who has put a case or made submissions to the Court in good faith in order to protect or advance his or her legitimate interest; or |
| (ii) |
for any other sufficient reason; |
| (b) |
award costs on the scale of party and party or attorney and client; |
| (c) |
award costs against any legal representative or office bearer of a party de bonis propriis; and |
| (d) |
penalise, in the award of costs, any party— |
| (i) |
who has unnecessarily protracted the case by calling unnecessary witnesses or by handing in unnecessary documents or by excessively long examination or cross-examination of witnesses or by unnecessarily labouring any point; |
| (ii) |
who or whose legal representative has failed to attend a conference, unless that party or legal representative has given a good reason for his or her failure; |
| (iii) |
who failed to comply, timeously or at all, with the provisions of these rules; |
| (iv) |
who failed to a material degree to promote the expeditious, economical and effective disposal of the case; |
| (v) |
who failed to deliver heads of argument timeously or at all after being directed to do so under rule 59(1); or |
| (vi) |
who or whose legal representative has been guilty of any objectionable or unprofessional conduct. |
| (2) |
If the Court makes or has made an order in terms of which a party— |
| (a) |
must pay compensation to another party; and |
| (b) |
is entitled to the payment of costs by that other party, |
it may order that the costs be set off against the compensation. In this event, the compensation (or any balance thereof) only becomes payable at a time or times set out in the Court order.
Statistics Act, 1999
