Costs in the District Court are modest, discretionary and statutory. A party who wins does not automatically get them, and a party who gets them does not get what a lawyer actually charged.
The power
The power of a Court to award costs is subject to the following: (a) where the Court makes a conviction or order in favour of the complainant, it may order the defendant to pay the informant or complainant such costs as it thinks just and reasonable; (b) subject to section 260A, where the Court dismisses the information or complaint or makes an order in favour of the defendant, it may order the informant or complainant to pay the defendant such costs as it thinks just and reasonable; (c) the sums allowed shall be specified in the conviction, order or order of dismissal; (d) costs awarded, other than costs adjudged by a conviction, are recoverable without further direction by execution under Division IX.2; (e) where a case is adjourned, the Court may order the costs of the adjournment be paid by a party to another; (f) the costs of persons present to give evidence are allowed, whether examined or not, up to the prescribed rate; (g) the amount shall in all cases be fixed by the Court; (h) costs ordered on a conviction are enforced under section 168.
(2) Costs on a complaint shall not exceed the prescribed amounts.
The Magistrates’ Manual’s starting point is that a court in Papua New Guinea has no inherent power to award costs; the power is statutory and confined to what section 260 allows. Three features follow. The award is discretionary: “may”, not “shall”. The sum must be fixed and written into the order: a bare order for “costs” to be worked out later is not what the section contemplates, and the Manual describes paragraphs (c) and (g) as mandatory. And the sum is capped by the Regulation scales.
The scales
| Schedule | Covers | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Schedule 3 (reg 47, Act s 262) | Court and bailiff fees, paid in advance by the party issuing process | Summons K2; service within 3 km K10; warrant of execution K2; certificate of judgment K5 |
| Schedule 4 (reg 48, Act s 263) | Maximum lawyer’s and agent’s costs, on a sliding scale by amount recovered or claimed, from under K500 to K10,000 | Drawing the complaint K17 to K55; getting up the case for trial K26 to K200; first day’s attendance K17 to K60; Summary Ejectment Act matters capped at K34 and K100 |
| Schedule 5 (reg 49, Act s 264) | Witnesses’ expenses, including the parties themselves | Fares actually paid; K0.25 per km for a private vehicle; lost wages and accommodation up to K85 a day |
| Schedule 6 | Miscellaneous fees | Copies of documents, certified copies of orders |
Schedule 4 item 13 allows, in addition to the scale, money properly paid out of pocket and witnesses’ expenses, and item 14 allows a travelling lawyer’s conveyance and up to K84 a day away from his place of practice. Item 15 limits lawyers’ fees on an information to the highest scale of items 1 to 11. Section 263 makes the scale a ceiling on what the lawyer may charge the client for District Court work, not merely on what the loser pays. See fees and lawyer costs.
Principles
Every person has a right to be heard in an action against them, including on costs; no order for costs can be made against a person who has not been served and has not become a party; and the matters in section 260A must be considered first when deciding whether to award costs against an informant under section 260(1)(b).
— National Court, PGNC 63 (1993)
In Getsi the District Court struck out an information and ordered costs against the informant and the provincial government that employed him, which was never a party. The order against the government was set aside. The party to pay must be before the Court and must be heard before the order is made. Beyond that, the usual considerations are the outcome, the conduct of the parties, and whether costs were caused by delay or an adjournment.
Adjournment costs
Section 260(1)(e) is the magistrate’s main tool against delay. A party whose unreadiness causes an adjournment may be ordered to pay the other side’s costs of the wasted day: the witnesses’ Schedule 5 allowances and the lawyer’s attendance fee under Schedule 4 item 5, which applies only where the Court “especially allows” the adjournment. The Manual treats a costs order as a sanction available where a party misleads the court, delays without excuse or causes an adjournment. See adjournments.
Limits
| Provision | Effect |
|---|---|
| s 260A | Before ordering costs against an informant, the Court must consider seven listed factors; no presumption either way; acquittal alone is not enough |
| s 261 | No costs against the complainant on dismissal of a charge of an indictable offence |
| s 262(2) | No court fees from a police officer acting in the execution of duty |
| s 265 | Garnishee costs in the Court’s discretion; a garnishee who pays in five days before the return day is not liable for the debtor’s costs |
| s 218 | Costs on a surety-of-the-peace complaint as on a conviction |
| Family Protection Act s 25 | No fees on an application for a family protection order |
Enforcement
Civil costs are part of the money order and are recovered by warrant of execution or garnishee under Part IX without any further direction, under section 260(1)(d). Costs adjudged on a conviction are enforced with the fine under section 168: time to pay, instalments, and in default a warrant of commitment on the section 201 scale. Section 177 applies money received first to costs ordered in favour of a party. See enforcing a money order.
The District Courts Act and Regulation are not on PacLII; both are on vLex (Act, Regulation).
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.