At the end of any Hearing or Trial lasting less than one day the Judge will decide whether one party should pay the costs of any other party in connection with that hearing and may assess the amount to be paid there and then after hearing brief representations from the parties or their legal representatives. The parties’ solicitors will have to disclose details of their costs to each other before the Hearing. As a general rule, where a party is ordered to pay a sum in respect of his opponent’s costs, he will have to do so within 14 days.

If the amount of the costs to be paid is not assessed by the Judge at the Hearing and the costs cannot be agreed with your opponent then they will be subject to detailed assessment proceedings after the case has been concluded.