Between-the-parties’ Costs – A blue-print for the future

It is a truth universally acknowledged that between-the-parties costs are in a mess. The position is so bad that the Civil Justice Council held a weekend Costs Forum attended by the Master of the Rolls, the Deputy Head of Civil Justice and all the key players from both sides of what is known as ‘the industry’ to consider what to recommend to the Lord Chancellor. And, what an industry it is, providing an income of billions of pounds with employment to thousands arising out of satellite litigation and negotiations over legal costs and the financing of claims, the time and effort often exceeding that expended on the subject matter of the dispute. Oh, Dickens, if you were but alive today! Even the special machinery set up only to deal with disputed costs claims has been swamped. The problems all arise from three sources: the indemnity principle; summary assessments and the recovery of additional liabilities between the parties.