One of the main objectives of the Civil Procedure Rules is to keep the costs of litigation to the minimum appropriate to the particular case. The principle of proportionality will be applied by the Court to any claim for recovery of costs from the other side. This means that only those costs, which can genuinely be justified in the context of the size and complexity of the claim, will be recoverable. In addition, the reasonableness of all aspects of your conduct both before and after proceedings, for example, in attempting to settle the claim or in contesting particular issues, will be taken into account in deciding whether or not to order your opponent to pay all or part of your legal costs, even if you have succeeded in the case at trial. It is quite possible that the Court will take a different view from that taken by the parties or their advisers as to what costs are proportionate and what is or is not reasonable conduct.

If you lose the proceedings then you will have to pay your own legal costs and also a proportion of your opponent’s costs, subject to what has already been said about proportionality and reasonableness.