# Courts Act 1971, Section 52: Award of costs where information or complaint is not proceeded with.

Extent: E+W

1), (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(3) Where—
(a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b) a complaint is made to a justice of the peace acting in any local justice area but the complaint is not proceeded with,
a magistrates’ court acting in that area may make such order as to costs to be paid . . . , by the complainant to the defendant as it thinks just and reasonable.
(3A) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(4) An order under subsection (3) above shall specify the amount of the costs ordered to be paid.
(5) . . . for the purpose of enforcement an order under subsection (3) above made in relation to a complaint which is not proceeded with shall be treated as if it were an order made under section 64 of the Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980 (power to award, and enforcement of, costs in civil proceedings).

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1971/23/section/52 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/courts-act-1971/section-52
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.