Singapore legislation
Section 29
Section 29
Costs
(1)
Subject to this section, in any civil proceedings or arbitration to which the Government or a public officer is a party the court shall have power to order costs for or against the Government or the public officer in the same manner and upon the same principles as in proceedings between private persons:Provided that —
in the case of proceedings to which by reason of any written law or otherwise the Attorney‑General or any officer of the Government as such is authorised or required to be made a party, the court shall have regard to the nature of the proceedings and the circumstances in which the Attorney‑General or such officer appears and may in the exercise of its discretion order any other party to the proceedings to pay the costs of the Attorney‑General or such officer whatever may be the result of the proceedings; and
nothing in this section shall affect the power of the court to order, or any provision of any written law requiring, the payment of costs out of any particular fund or property or any provision of any written law expressly relieving the Attorney‑General or such officer of the liability for costs.
(2)
In any civil proceedings before any court in which a legal officer appears as an advocate under the provisions of this Act, and costs are awarded to or against the Attorney‑General, or to or against the party on whose behalf such legal officer appears, such costs shall include such items, including fees for drawing, for getting up the case and for attendances, as would be included within the meaning of the word “costs” in any written law if an advocate and solicitor of the Supreme Court had appeared.
(3)
Such costs shall be in accordance with any scale of fees prescribed from time to time to be chargeable by advocates and solicitors and may be taxed in accordance with any written law for the time being in force for the taxation of the fees and costs of such advocates and solicitors.
(4)
In any civil proceedings mentioned in subsection (2), costs are payable in respect of the services of more than 2 legal officers if the court so certifies.
(5)
Costs awarded in accordance with this section to a party for whom any of the legal officers referred to in subsection (2) appears as advocate shall, when recovered, be paid into the Consolidated Fund.
(6)
A legal officer shall not be personally liable for costs in any proceedings under this Act.
(7)
In this section and in section 31, “court” includes an arbitrator.