{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-northern-ireland-order-1981/article-163",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-northern-ireland-order-1981/article-163.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1981/1675",
  "legislation_title": "The Magistrates' Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1981",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/magistrates-courts-northern-ireland-order-1981",
  "path": "article/163",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "163",
  "heading": "Costs",
  "text": "(1) Subject to magistrates' court rules, a magistrates' court may order that a successful complainant, plaintiff, applicant or appellant in any summary proceeding shall recover costs from a defendant or respondent.\n(2) Where a complaint, debt or ejectment proceeding, application, appeal or other summary proceeding is dismissed, withdrawn or ordered to be struck out or where an order in any such proceeding is refused, the court may order that a defendant or respondent shall recover costs from the complainant, plaintiff, applicant or appellant.\n(3) The court when making an order for adjournment may order that one party shall recover from another the costs of the adjournment.\n(4) Paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply to costs in criminal cases.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1981/1675/article/163",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-11-05T03:43:00.143829+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}