The UK's Ministry of Justice is considering implementing proposals for Protective Cost Orders (PCOs) in environmental judicial review cases.
PCOs act as incentives for litigating in the public interest as costs may be excluded or indeed capped from the start of proceedings which allows the claimant to proceed without incurring costs should their challenge fail.
The objective of the proposals is to codify existing case law on PCOs in relation to environmental claims - some of which have been far-reaching in recent years. The proposals provide a general rule of thumb for those seeking PCOs, where a claimant's adverse costs would be capped at £5000 and those of a defendant at £30000.
Although the proposals may provide greater certainty for claimants, they could cause concern for planning authorities and other public bodies, as their decisions may be challenged by judicial review. Law firm Herbert Smith says the proposals may see more legal challenges as claimants will be incentivised to seek PCOs.
Click here to see more details about the proposals.
Click here to see FAQs on PCOs on the PILA website.