Wasting courts’ time: NA passes bill to end frivolous litigation
If bill becomes law, ICT courts could fine parties for unnecessary adjournments
PHOTO: APP
ISLAMABAD:
The National Assembly (NA) Thursday passed the Cost of Litigation Act 2016 to empower courts in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to penalise those filing false and frivolous litigation and unnecessary adjournments.
The lower house passed the Islamabad capital territory-specific bill to further amend the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898).
Under the bill, if the court is satisfied that an adjournment is being sought on account of unavoidable reasons beyond the control of the party concerned, which shall be recorded by the court, the court may grant it without imposing costs.
The bill states that in the event the court finds that there is a tendency of seeking repeated adjournments by any party on frivolous grounds, the court may grant the adjournment while imposing ‘adjournment costs’.
Under the act, if during any proceedings, the court finds that any averment made by any party is false and vexatious to the knowledge of the party, the court shall award special costs to the opposite party.
During the first week of November last year, a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had confirmed the bill as well, along with others, which were earlier approved by the Cabinet Committee on Disposal of Legislative Case (CCLC).
The government justified the bill by noting that there was a tendency to file false and vexatious cases and taking baseless grounds for defence. This tendency leads to numerous evils, including heavy expenditure incurred by the affected parties, causing them financial loss and mental torture, apart from wasting the court’s time.
It is, therefore, necessary to empower courts to impose costs to discourage false and frivolous litigation and unnecessary adjournments, it added.
Under the amendment of the act for section 35, a party to any proceedings shall, before the announcement of the final order, judgment or decree, file in the prescribed form, the details of actual costs of litigation including but not limited to court fee, stamp free, fee paid to counsel and all other ancillary or incidental expenses.
The court shall award the actual cost of litigation under clause (i) to the successful party with markup not exceeding the prescribed limit per annum as notified by the State Bank of Pakistan, at the time of passing the order, judgment or decree. The costs other than those mentioned in the clause shall be at the discretion of the court and the court shall have full power to determine out of what property such cost are to be paid and recovered and to give all necessary directions for this purpose.
For section 35-A, an amendment has been proposed that if on the date fixed for hearing in any proceedings, a party to the proceedings or any other person, despite service of notice, fails to appear or comply with any order of the court or mandatory provisions of the code or any other law for the time being in force, seeks an adjournment for such purpose, the court shall for sufficient cause and reasons to be recorded, grant such adjournment on the condition that such party or person shall pay to the party the cost of adjournment which shall not be less than Rs5,000 per adjournment.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2017.
The National Assembly (NA) Thursday passed the Cost of Litigation Act 2016 to empower courts in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) to penalise those filing false and frivolous litigation and unnecessary adjournments.
The lower house passed the Islamabad capital territory-specific bill to further amend the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act V of 1908) and the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898 (V of 1898).
Under the bill, if the court is satisfied that an adjournment is being sought on account of unavoidable reasons beyond the control of the party concerned, which shall be recorded by the court, the court may grant it without imposing costs.
The bill states that in the event the court finds that there is a tendency of seeking repeated adjournments by any party on frivolous grounds, the court may grant the adjournment while imposing ‘adjournment costs’.
Under the act, if during any proceedings, the court finds that any averment made by any party is false and vexatious to the knowledge of the party, the court shall award special costs to the opposite party.
During the first week of November last year, a federal cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif had confirmed the bill as well, along with others, which were earlier approved by the Cabinet Committee on Disposal of Legislative Case (CCLC).
The government justified the bill by noting that there was a tendency to file false and vexatious cases and taking baseless grounds for defence. This tendency leads to numerous evils, including heavy expenditure incurred by the affected parties, causing them financial loss and mental torture, apart from wasting the court’s time.
It is, therefore, necessary to empower courts to impose costs to discourage false and frivolous litigation and unnecessary adjournments, it added.
Under the amendment of the act for section 35, a party to any proceedings shall, before the announcement of the final order, judgment or decree, file in the prescribed form, the details of actual costs of litigation including but not limited to court fee, stamp free, fee paid to counsel and all other ancillary or incidental expenses.
The court shall award the actual cost of litigation under clause (i) to the successful party with markup not exceeding the prescribed limit per annum as notified by the State Bank of Pakistan, at the time of passing the order, judgment or decree. The costs other than those mentioned in the clause shall be at the discretion of the court and the court shall have full power to determine out of what property such cost are to be paid and recovered and to give all necessary directions for this purpose.
For section 35-A, an amendment has been proposed that if on the date fixed for hearing in any proceedings, a party to the proceedings or any other person, despite service of notice, fails to appear or comply with any order of the court or mandatory provisions of the code or any other law for the time being in force, seeks an adjournment for such purpose, the court shall for sufficient cause and reasons to be recorded, grant such adjournment on the condition that such party or person shall pay to the party the cost of adjournment which shall not be less than Rs5,000 per adjournment.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 3rd, 2017.