The District Court is cheap to use, which is part of its design. What it costs is written into the Regulation to the toea, and the figures have not kept pace with anything, which is part of the reality.
Court fees
(1) The prescribed fees shall be paid in respect of matters under this Act, and shall be paid in the first instance and in advance by the party on whose behalf the proceedings are taken.
(2) The fees shall not be demanded, received or taken from an officer or a member of the Police Force acting in the execution of his duty.
Regulation 47 prescribes the fees in Schedule 3. Service fees are paid to the Clerk issuing the process; if the process is unserved within 60 days the Clerk refunds them, and when it is served the Clerk pays them to the process-server, who keeps them. Regulation 9 provides that a document on which the fee has not been paid is not to be issued.
| Item | Fee |
|---|---|
| Civil summons, with one copy | K2.00; plus K1.00 if the Clerk prepares it; K1.00 each further copy |
| Service or attempted service on each defendant within 3 km of the Court House | K10.00; K1.00 per km beyond 3 km; two visits included, further visits K5.00 plus mileage |
| Payment into Court | K1.00 |
| Notice of special defence | K1.00 |
| Certificate of judgment | K5.00 |
| Summary Ejectment Act warrant | K5.00; execution within 3 km K5.00 |
| Criminal summons or warrant of apprehension | K2.00; plus K1.00 if Clerk-prepared |
| Witness summons | K1.00; police service K10.00 within 3 km |
| Warrant of execution | K2.00; execution within 3 km K10.00; possession up to K10.00 a day; removal and storage up to K50.00 |
| Warrant of commitment (Division IX.5) | K5.00; execution K10.00 |
| Certified extract from the Register | K1.50 |
| Copies after hearing (Schedule 6) | K1.00 first folio, K2.00 each further; certified copy of order K2.00 |
The complainant pays these up front and, if successful, recovers them as part of the costs fixed under section 260. A defendant who counter-sues by set-off pays for that process. Nothing is payable to the Court for defending.
Lawyer’s and agent’s fees
A lawyer or agent is not entitled to receive more by way of fees for the work done by him than the prescribed sums.
Regulation 48 and Schedule 4 set the maximum “costs and charges allowable on taxation”, in six bands by the amount recovered by a plaintiff or claimed against a defendant: up to K500, K500 to K2,000, K2,000 to K4,000, K4,000 to K6,000, K6,000 to K8,000 and K8,000 to K10,000. The items are the ordinary steps of a case: drawing the complaint or defence, summonses, applications, getting up the case for trial, attendance in court, preparing warrants and orders, and costs endorsed on a writ of execution. At the top band, getting up for trial is K200 and the first day’s attendance K60; at the bottom, K26 and K17. Undefended default summonses under section 156 have a separate low cap, and Summary Ejectment Act cases are capped at K34 for drawing the complaint and K100 for attendance. Out-of-pocket expenses and witnesses’ allowances are added, and a lawyer attending away from his place of practice may add conveyance and up to K84 a day.
On its face section 263 caps what a lawyer may charge the client for District Court work, not just what the loser pays. In practice lawyers charge clients on their own terms, and the scale operates mainly as the ceiling on party-and-party costs under section 260. A client who is billed far above scale for District Court work has an argument under section 263 and the Lawyers Act’s costs-review machinery, but should expect the point to be contested. The scale is also why a claim at the upper end of the K10,000 limit is often uneconomic to run with a lawyer: the recoverable costs are a small fraction of the real fee.
Witnesses
Section 264 and Schedule 5 allow witnesses, including the parties themselves, their fares, K0.25 per kilometre for a private vehicle, and lost wages and accommodation up to K85 a day. The party calling the witness pays and, if successful, recovers the amount as costs. See witness expenses.
Who pays nothing
| Party | Basis |
|---|---|
| Police informants and officers executing process | s 262(2) |
| Applicants for a family protection order | Family Protection Act 2013 s 25: no fees or charges notwithstanding any other law |
| Defendants | No fee to appear or defend; fees only for process the defendant issues |
| Clients of the Public Solicitor | Representation free under the Public Solicitor Act; court fees may still be payable on process issued |
Agents and unrepresented parties
Section 59 allows representation by a lawyer, a certified Legal Training Institute trainee or law student, a person authorised by law, or any person by leave of the Court, and section 263 applies to agents as it does to lawyers. An unrepresented party recovers no professional costs, only court fees and Schedule 5 allowances for his own and his witnesses’ attendance. See whether you need a lawyer.
Appeals
The Regulation scale does not apply to an appeal. Costs of an appeal are National Court costs, and the section 234 certificate fee is a National Court fee. See costs of an appeal.
The District Courts Act and Regulation are not on PacLII; both are on vLex (Act, Regulation). Fee figures are from the consolidated Regulation; check the registry for any later amendment.
Before relying on anything here, read the current text of the District Courts Act (Chapter 40) and check for later amendments. The Act is not on PacLII; the figures and time limits quoted in this series come from the consolidation to No 8 of 2000, and the District Courts (Amendment) Act 2009 changes some of them once it is brought into operation. If a decision matters to you, get advice — start with the Office of the Public Solicitor, or find a firm in the law firms directory.