The High Court has awarded costs to the Member in Charge of Dún Laoghaire Garda Station after an unsuccessful constitutional challenge to a person’s detention.
In a judgment delivered on 21 December 2020, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys ruled on competing applications for costs following the dismissal of an application for release under Article 40.4 of the Constitution. The earlier application had been dismissed on 20 October 2020.
The applicant argued that the court should depart from the normal rule that costs follow the event. Counsel relied on the fact that the applicant had raised a legal issue it was reasonable to pursue, and submitted that the issues were important and novel. They also cited a previous High Court case in which an unsuccessful applicant received partial costs.
The judge said the court’s discretion to depart from the usual rule was not as wide as the applicant suggested and had to be exercised according to established principles. He acknowledged that at least one legal point raised by the applicant was not clear-cut, but found that the arguments did not justify a different costs order.
The judgment referred to the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015, under which the applicant had been wholly unsuccessful in civil proceedings, while noting that the court retained jurisdiction to depart from the normal position. It also considered the Legal Aid – Custody Issues Scheme. The judge said awarding costs to an unsuccessful applicant who had not applied to use the scheme would undermine it, and would also undermine the principle of mutuality, given that a successful applicant would have sought costs.
The court further noted that the applicant had raised other issues specific to the facts. It said the applicant had contributed to delay in being brought before a court by falsely claiming to have COVID-19 symptoms. The judge said those matters were not determinative but did not assist the applicant.
The court ordered costs in favour of the respondent. The judgment concerned costs following the earlier dismissal; it did not reconsider the detention application.