Rule 3.15 Costs management ordersF1C1

In addition to exercising its other powers, the court may manage the costs to be incurred F2(the budgeted costs) by any party in any proceedings.

The court may at any time make a “costs management order”. F3Where costs budgets have been filed and exchanged the court will make a costs management order unless it is satisfied that the litigation can be conducted justly and at proportionate cost in accordance with the overriding objective without such an order being made. By a costs management order the court will—

If a costs management order has been made, the court will thereafter control the parties’ budgets in respect of recoverable costs.

Whether or not the court makes a costs management order, it may record on the face of any case management order any comments it has about the incurred costs which are to be taken into account in any subsequent assessment proceedings.

Save in exceptional circumstances—

(Precedent H is annexed to Practice Direction F93D.)

The court may set a timetable or give other directions for future reviews of budgets.

After a party’s budgeted costs have been approved or agreed, the party must re-file and re-serve the budget—

A costs management order concerns the totals allowed for each phase of the budget, and while the underlying detail in the budget for each phase used by the party to calculate the totals claimed is provided for reference purposes to assist the court in fixing a budget, it is not the role of the court in the costs management hearing to fix or approve the hourly rates claimed in the budget.