Regulation 34
1. No costs attributable to the period during which a client was in receipt of ABWOR shall be recoverable from him until the court has determined the amount of his liability in accordance with section 12 of the Act:
Provided that where the ABWOR does not relate to or has been withdrawn so that it no longer relates to the whole of the proceedings the court shall nevertheless make a determination in respect of that part of the proceedings to which the approval of ABWOR relates.
2. The court may, if it thinks fit, refer to the clerk to the justices for investigation any question of fact relevant to the determination, requiring him to report his findings on that question to the court.
3. In determining the amount of the client’s liability his dwelling-house, clothes, household furniture and the tools and implements of his trade shall be left out of account to the like extent as they are left out of account by the solicitor in determining the client’s disposable capital.
4. Any person, not being himself a client, who is a party to proceedings to which the client is a party may, at any time before the judgment, lodge with the clerk to the justices an affidavit exhibiting thereto a statement setting out the rate of his own income and amount of his own capital and any other facts relevant to the determination of his means in accordance with section 12 of the Act and shall serve a copy thereof together with the exhibit upon the client’s solicitor and such affidavit and exhibit shall be evidence of the facts stated therein.
5. The court may, if it thinks fit, order the client and any party who has filed an affidavit in accordance with paragraph (4) of this Schedule to attend for oral examination as to his means and as to any other facts relevant to the determination of the amount of the client’s liability and may permit any party to give evidence and call witnesses thereon.
6. The court may direct–
(a)that payment under the order for costs shall be limited to such amount payable in instalments or otherwise as the court thinks reasonable having regard to all the circumstances; or
(b)where the court thinks it reasonable for payment under sub-paragraph (a) not to be made immediately, that payment under the order for costs be suspended either until such date as the court may determine or sine die.
7. The party in whose favour an order is made may within 6 years from the date thereof apply to the court for the order to be varied on the grounds that–
(a)material additional information as to the client’s means, being information which could not have been obtained by that party with reasonable diligence at the time the order was made, is available; or
(b)there has been a change in the client’s circumstances since the date of the order,
and on any such application the order may be varied as the court thinks fit but save as aforesaid the determination of the court shall be final.
8. Where an order for costs is made against a client who is concerned in the proceedings solely in a representative, fiduciary or official capacity, he shall have the benefit of section 12(1) of the Act and his personal resources shall not (unless there is reason to the contrary) be taken into account for that purpose, but regard shall be had to the value of the property or estate, or the amount of the fund out of which he is entitled to be indemnified.
9. Where a client is a child, his means for the purpose of determining his liability for costs under section 12(1) of the Act shall be taken as including the means of any person whose disposable income and disposable capital has, by virtue of Schedule 2 been included in assessing the child’s resources.
10. Where an order for costs is made against a next friend or guardian ad litem of a client who is a child or patient, he shall have the benefit of section 12(1) of the Act in like manner as it applies to a client, and the means of the next friend or guardian ad litem shall be taken as being the means of the child as defined in paragraph 9 or, as the case may be, of the patient.