After a bench dismissed a matter, a later bench awarded the defendant his costs. He applied for payment but was refused on basis that it was not the same bench.
Held: It need not be the same bench to dismiss the charge and to order costs. Once justices have made a defendant’s costs order, it is not for the clerk to ignore it. If he believed it wrong in law, he should raise it again with the bench or a reconstituted bench to alter the decision or refer it to a higher court.
Citations:
Times 06-May-1999, Gazette 08-Apr-1999, [1999] EWHC Admin 205
Links:
Statutes:
Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 16(1)
Magistrates, Costs
Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.85371
