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You are here: BAILII >> Databases >> England and Wales High Court (Administrative Court) Decisions >> Major & Ors v Driver And Vehicle Standards Agency [2014] EWHC 4923 (Admin) (28 March 2014) URL: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2014/4923.html Cite as: [2014] EWHC 4923 (Admin) |
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QUEEN'S BENCH DIVISION
DIVISIONAL COURT
Bristol BS1 6GR |
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B e f o r e :
MR JUSTICE DINGEMANS
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MARK KALMAN MAJOR & ORS | Claimants | |
v | ||
DRIVER AND VEHICLE STANDARDS AGENCY | Defendant |
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WordWave International Limited Trading as DTI
165 Fleet Street London EC4A 2DY
Tel No: 020 7404 1400 Fax No: 020 7831 8838
(Official Shorthand Writers to the Court)
The Defendant was not present and was not represented
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Crown Copyright ©
"This Court takes the view that of course whenever a Court is imposing a financial penalty, or making an order in regard to costs, it must have regard to the means of the individual against whom the order is going to be made. That does not necessarily mean that a very detailed examination of all his finances has to be entered into by the Court. In the ordinary case a Court can make a reasonable assessment of the sort of sum that a man is able to pay."
In R v Nottingham Justices ex parte Farman (1986) 151 JPR 49, it was noted that any order for costs ought to be payable within a period of 12 months and it was said that the costs and fines should be kept instep and the order as made should be within the means of the person so ordered.
"(1) An order to pay costs to the prosecutor should never exceed the sum which, having regard to the defendant's means and any other financial order imposed upon him, the defendant is able to pay and which it is reasonable to order the defendant to pay."
The fourth principle was:
"(4) While there is no requirement that any sum ordered by justices to be paid to a prosecutor by way of costs should stand in any arithmetical relationship to any fine imposed, the costs ordered to be paid should not in the ordinary way be grossly disproportionate to the fine. Justices should ordinarily begin by deciding on the appropriate fine to reflect the criminality of the defendant's offence, always bearing in mind his means and his ability to pay, and then consider what, if any, costs he should be ordered to pay to the prosecutor."
"An order for costs should never exceed the sum which having regard to the offender's means... he or she is able to pay and the costs ordered to be paid should not be grossly disproportionate to any fine imposed for the offence."
"(a) reverse, affirm or amend the determination in respect of which the case has been stated or
(b) remit the matter to the Magistrates' Court or the Crown Court with the opinion of the High Court and may make such order in relation to the matter including as to costs as it thinks fit."
"A defendant's costs order may not require a payment out of Central Funds of an amount that includes an amount in respect of the accused's legal costs, subject to the following provisions of this section."
Then the following provisions are if conditions (a), (b), (c) or (d) are met. Having gone through it, albeit very quickly I could not see an order whereby we could make an order for costs in your favour but I am very happy to be persuaded that is wrong.