(1)This section applies where, in proceedings of Parliament on a private Bill, a committee of either House—
(a)decides that the preamble to the Bill is proved, and
(b)unanimously reports that the promoter has been vexatiously exposed to costs as a result of opposition to the Bill by one or more petitioners.
(2)The promoter may recover from the petitioner (or, where there is more than one, those specified by the committee)—
(a)such portion as the committee specifies of the promoter’s costs of promoting the Bill (subject to their assessment under section 12), or
(b)if the committee specifies an amount in respect of those costs and the parties affected agree to it, that amount.
(3)The committee must specify in its report—
(a)the portion or amount of costs recoverable under this section,
(b)who must pay that portion or amount, and
(c)who may recover it.
(4)A landowner who at his own risk and cost opposes a private Bill which proposes the acquisition of any part of his property is not liable under this section for any costs in respect of his opposition.
(5)For the purposes of this section and section 10, a committee is to be regarded as reporting unanimously if its report is made by every member of it present.
(1)This section applies where, in proceedings of Parliament on a private Bill, a committee of either House—
(a)decides that the preamble to the Bill is not proved, or amends the Bill so as to protect a petitioner who opposes it, and
(b)unanimously reports that a petitioner who opposes the Bill has been unreasonably or vexatiously exposed to costs in defending rights of his with which the Bill proposes to interfere.
(2)A petitioner of the kind mentioned in subsection (1)(b) may recover from the promoter—
(a)the amount of the petitioner’s costs (subject to their assessment under section 12) for defending rights of his of the kind mentioned in subsection (1)(b),
(b)if the committee specifies a portion of those costs, that portion, or
(c)if the committee specifies an amount in respect of those costs and the parties affected agree to it, that amount.
(3)The committee must specify in its report—
(a)the portion or amount of costs recoverable under this section,
(b)who must pay that portion or amount, and
(c)who may recover it.
(1)A person entitled to recover costs under section 9(2)(a) or 10(2)(a) or (b) may apply for their assessment and certification.
(2)A person entitled to recover costs under section 9(2)(b) or 10(2)(c) may apply only for their certification.
(3)The application must be made to the taxing officer of the House to which the members of the committee awarding the costs belong.
(4)The application—
(a)must be made before the end of the period of six months beginning with the date of the committee’s report, but
(b)if made under subsection (1), must not be made before the end of the period of one month beginning with the day on which a duly signed bill of the costs is delivered to the person required to pay those costs.
(5)“Duly signed”, in relation to a bill of costs, means signed (or, where appropriate, sealed) by or on behalf of the applicant.
(1)Where a taxing officer receives an application under section 11(1), he must assess and certify the costs to which the application relates.
(2)Where a taxing officer receives an application under section 11(2), he must certify the costs to which the application relates.
(3)The certificate must specify—
(a)the amount of costs recoverable (“the recoverable costs”),
(b)the person entitled to recover that amount (“the entitled person”),
(c)any person liable to pay it (“the liable person”), and
(d)the extent to which he is liable to do so (“the specified extent”).
(4)The certificate is to be treated for the purposes of any proceedings as conclusive evidence of—
(a)the recoverable costs, and
(b)the right of the entitled person to recover those costs from the liable person to the specified extent.
(5)The certificate must be—
(a)signed by the taxing officer giving it, and
(b)given by him to such of the parties affected as he thinks appropriate.
(6)The entitled person must, on recovering the recoverable costs, give a receipt at the foot of the certificate; and the receipt discharges the liability to pay the costs.