ABSTRACT
Taxation of costs under the Jamaican CPR is governed by rr 65.14-65.29. Taxation proceedings are commenced by the receiving party filing a bill of costs at the registry and serving a copy of the bill on the paying party. The bill must be filed and served not more than three months after the date of the order or event entitling the receiving party to costs. It need not be in any particular form, but it must contain a general description of the work done in respect of which the costs are claimed. A bill of costs may indicate the time spent by the receiving party’s attorney-at-law on each item, or category of work, and the hourly rate claimed; alternatively, it may indicate that the total sum claimed in the bill of costs or any part of the bill is a stated multiple of a sum indicated in Appendix B, on the basis of one or more of the factors set out in r 65.17(3).
Where the court has a discretion as to the amount of costs to be allowed to a party, the sum to be allowed is the amount deemed by the court to be (a) reasonable, and (b) fair to both paying and receiving parties.
