Law Weblog

Law Reform – influences on Parliament

The Costs in Criminal Cases (General) Regulations 1986 which enables a the court to make a third party costs order, was largely inspired by the abandonment, following a Sunday Mirror article, of the trial in the “Leeds Footballers” case(R v Woodgate & others), wasting costs of about £1million. Before this amendment the courts only had power to make wasted costs orders against the legal or other representative of a party to the proceedings where “wasted costs” have been incurred by any party to the proceedings as a result of any improper, unreasonable or negligent act or omission on the part of the legal representative or his employee.