The Court of Appeal has awarded the Criminal Assets Bureau its costs against Harry Zeman after dismissing his appeal in proceedings under the Proceeds of Crime Acts.
In a costs ruling delivered on 17 June 2024, the court said the Bureau was entitled to costs for successfully defending the appeal. The amount is to be adjudicated if the parties cannot agree.
The appeal had been dismissed in a separate judgment on 10 May 2024. In the costs ruling, the court applied the general rule under section 169(1) of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015: the successful party is entitled to costs unless the court orders otherwise, having regard to the case and the parties’ conduct.
Zeman gave four reasons why costs should not be ordered against him: that he had succeeded on an appeal ground but lost because of an unforeseen development; the public interest in clarifying the law; his legal aid in the High Court; and that the funds at issue belonged to Routeback Media AB.
The court rejected each argument. It said Zeman had not established good grounds for appeal and had not won his appeal grounds before losing on an unforeseen basis. It also found that the judgment’s discussion of challenges to orders under the Proceeds of Crime Act did not justify departing from the usual costs rule in the public interest. His High Court legal aid was not a reason to deny the Bureau costs.
On the company argument, the court said Zeman pursued the appeal in his own name as a named party, rather than appearing as a director of Routeback. Routeback’s appeal had previously been struck out. The court said Zeman chose to pursue his own appeal and thereby caused the Bureau to incur costs resisting it.
The ruling concerns the costs of Zeman’s unsuccessful appeal. It does not set out the amount payable; that remains for adjudication if there is no agreement.