CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2004 - SECT 67

CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ACT 2004 - SECT 67

67 .         Costs

        (1)         Subject to the Official Prosecutions (Accused’s Costs) Act 1973 and this section, a successful party to a prosecution is entitled to the party’s costs.

        (2)         If a court convicts an accused of a charge, the court may order the accused to pay all or a part of the prosecutor’s costs.

        (3)         The amount of costs ordered under subsection (2) may be determined in accordance with the relevant determination made under the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2022 section 133 for the purposes of the Official Prosecutions (Accused’s Costs) Act 1973 and with the Legal Profession Uniform Law Application Act 2022 section 141.

        (4)         A court may reduce the costs that it would otherwise have awarded, or refuse to award costs, under this section to a party if —

            (a)         any act or omission of or caused by the party (other than an act or omission that is the subject of a charge) was unreasonable in the circumstances and contributed to the institution or continuation of the case; or

            (b)         any act or omission of or caused by the party during or in the conduct of the case was calculated to prolong the case unnecessarily or cause unnecessary expense.

        (5)         The court may adjourn an application for costs, or the determination of the amount of costs to be paid.

        (6)         A question adjourned under subsection (5) is to be dealt with by a magistrate and may be dealt with in chambers.

        [Section 67 amended: No. 21 of 2008 s. 657(7); No. 9 of 2022 s. 424.]