Affordable costs in civil litigation

Cost shifting policies have a profound effect on the way that litigation is conducted. To maintain a Rule of Law it is essential that courts are affordable. For court systems to provide affordable and efficient litigation processes they must have appropriate cost incentives to encourage that approach in the litigants and their advisors. This article describes a cost rule and scale that does so by providing fixed rate proportionate costs for each of the stages of the litigation to encourage efficient and proportionate use of court processes. A system of offers to encourage plaintiffs to accept a discount and defendants to actually pay any judgment sum are included. Importantly, litigants who exaggerate their claims, defences and counterclaims are penalised under the cost formula.