Costs

In licensing appeals the powers of the court in relation to costs were governed by s 181(2) of the Licensing Act 2003 and not s 64(1) of the Magistrates’ Court Act 1980. There was no scope for fettering the former by construing it in the light of the provisions of the latter.

The two provisions were independent of each other and Parliament doubtless had good reason for making it clear that in licensing cases where the permutations of result might frequently be much more complex than a simple success or failure, the court had an unfettered power in relation to the costs.

That being so, the court’s discretion was subject only to the usual requirement that in deciding what order was just, it would have to take into account all relevant matters and would not be able to take into account irrelevant matters.