LEGAL PRACTICE ACT 2003 (NO. 64 OF 2003) - SECT 215

LEGAL PRACTICE ACT 2003 (NO. 64 OF 2003) - SECT 215

215 .         Effect of determination

        (1)         Subject to sections 221 and  241 of this Act and section 14 of the Legal Aid Commission Act 1976  —

            (a)         the taxation of bills of costs of legal practitioners, as between legal practitioner and client or party and party; and

            (b)         any other aspect of the remuneration of legal practitioners the subject of a determination,

                is regulated by a legal costs determination in force under section 210.

        (2)         Despite subsection (1), if a court or judicial officer is of the opinion that the amount of costs allowable in respect of a matter under a legal costs determination is inadequate because of the unusual difficulty, complexity or importance of the matter, the court or officer may do all or any of the following —

            (a)         order the payment of costs above those fixed by the determination;

            (b)         fix higher limits of costs than those fixed in the determination;

            (c)         remove limits on costs fixed in the determination;

            (d)         make any order or give any direction for the purposes of enabling costs above those in the determination to be ordered or taxed.

        (3)         Nothing in subsection (1) is to be construed as limiting the power of a court, a judicial officer or a taxing officer of a court to determine in any particular case before that court or judicial officer the amount of costs allowed.

        (4)         If a legal costs determination is in force under section 210 in respect of any business referred to in section 210(2), any other subsidiary legislation fixing or purporting to regulate the remuneration of legal practitioners in respect of that kind of business is of no force or effect.