Hi, it's Deborah and Euzi
The Nuffield Foundation has published the report “Emotionally Charged: Costs on
Divorce and Dissolution”. The report makes a number of recommendations:
Costs in matrimonial cases should only be available on the basis of litigation misconduct and 'conduct' should be tightly defined to exclude conduct prior to proceedings and/or as a consequence of proceedings. Costs may therefore only be claimed at conditional order stage, not on application.
Any costs awards are restricted to compensation for additional expenses arising directly from the litigation conduct, therefore excluding the initial application (petition) fee or initial legal advice.
There should be an increased focus on measures to prevent difficulties giving rise to litigation misconduct. Those measures could include: freezing or reducing the issue fee of £550 so that its financial significance is reduced; encouraging the voluntary sharing of the costs of the application; ensuring that information for respondents is clear and accessible, sets out precisely what steps respondents must take together with clear, but respectful, warnings about potential liability for costs for delayed or non-response; and ensuring that family justice stakeholders – lawyers, HMCTS and the judiciary – are clear about the cultural change that the DDSA introduces for costs.
The operation of the costs regime should be monitored to ensure it remains consistent with the policy aims of the DDSA.
https://www.nuffieldfoundation.org/publications/emotionally-charged-costs-on-divorce-and-dissolution
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