ABSTRACT
The appendices to the various rules stipulate the factors which may be considered by the taxing officer in assessing ‘discretionary costs’. The following are examples of the factors to be taken into account:27
(a) the complexity of the item or the cause or matter in which it arises and the difficulty or novelty of the questions involved;
(b) the skill, specialised knowledge and responsibility required of, and the time and labour expended by, the solicitor or counsel;
(c) the number and importance of the documents (however brief) prepared or perused;
(d) the place and circumstances in which the business involved is transacted; (e) the importance of the cause or matter to the client; and (f) where money or property is involved, its amount or value.
